
-^^x-.x ^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
Chap.. .p__^_ \Shelf._.S-.?^6 

PRESENTED BY 



Ooaxplijaxents ai\ 



William H. Barnes, 

Secretary. 



THE PLUM 

IN KANSAS, 



WITH A CHAPTER ON THE PRUNE. 



D n p 1 i r fl t «J. 

HOW TO GROW THEM. 

EVERY LANDOWNER SHOULD GROW SOME. 

WHY NOT ? 

THEY ARE EASILY GROWN. 

THEY ARE PROFITABLE. 

THEY ARE GOOD TO EAT. 




» COMPILED AND REVISED FOE THE 

KANSAS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 

By WILLIAM H. BARNES, Seceetaey, 
State Capitol, Topeka, Kan. 



ISSUED BY THE STATE. 



1900. 



^<^ 

* 



PRESS OF 

W. Y. MORGAN, State Printer. 

TOPEKA, 1900. 

P. 
OenBUB Bureau. 

12 N ^O. 



THE P^LTJM. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

It should rank fourth on our fruit-tree list. The improvements 
in this fruit during the last quarter of a century have been as wonder- 
ful and progressive as in any horticultural line. The introduction of 
the Japan plum marked a new era, and the crossing of it upon our 
natives has resulted in giving us some fine fruits as large as peaches, 
free from "pucker" or astringency, and of fine grain and flavor — ele- 
gant dessert fruits. California has made a great name and market for 
her plums — mainly hybrid Japan — and while our winters may occa- 
sionally play havoc with the plum tree, yet our state can grow as fine 
plums as any in the union. 

Plum trees must be well cultivated and, if necessary, sprayed lib- 
erally. Their greatest enemy is the curculio ; the jarring process, if 
persisted in, will conquer the "little Tuirk." Small plum orchards 
planted where poultry have a run are quite sure to produce abundant 
crops. Our horticulturists mostly plant the Wild Goose ; this, to do 
well, should have a potent consort or fertilizer, like Robinson, Potta- 
watomie, or others." Our sixty or seventy correspondents differ in a 
few minor points. One declares that our native plums always grow 
in thickets ; therefore he planted his plum orchard that way ; another 
planted three trees in each hole ; some plant only ten feet apart ; 
others eighteen to twenty feet. We have inserted many articles 
showing profit in plums. We have also added quite a number of 
articles showing up one or more varieties in a special light, proving 
their particular value in favored localities. As we have inserted mat- 
ter from many states in the far East, the South, the far West, and the 
North, our horticulturists should study all the special conditions of 
climate and location, and not plant blindly, thinking success lies en- 
tirely with the variety. Climate, soil, location, cultivation, thinning, 
each has a bearing as well as has variety. 

This work is not issued as an infallible guide, or "how to get rich 
growing plums in Kansas," but to start a line of thought among a 
thinking people ; although an occasional chance here and there may 
be unsuccessful, yet to our state as a whole it may and surely will be 
a grand success. Our state pays for this work in the hope that it may 
result in giving an impetus to the plum industry. 

Secretary. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 



WHAT IS A PLUM? 

Definition in the Standard Dictionary: The edible drupa- 
ceous fruit of the Prunus domest lea, and of several other species of 
Prumis; also, the tree itself, usually called plum tree. The Bullace, 
the Damson, and the numerous varieties of plum of our gardens, 
although growing into thornless trees, are believed to be varieties of 
the blackthorn, produced by long cultivation. Two or three hundred 
varieties of plums derived from the P. domesfica are described ; among 
them the Green Gage, the Orleans, the Damson, the Purple Gage or 
Reine Claude Violette and the German Prune are some of the best 
known. 

Among true plums are the Beach plum {P. maritiina) and its 
crimson or purple globular drupes. Bullace plum. Chickasaw plum, 
the American P. chicasa and its round-headed drupes. Orleans plum, 
a dark-reddish plum of medium size, much grown in England for sale 
in the markets. The wild plum of America {P. americana), with 
red or yellow fruit — the original of the Iowa plum — and several other 
varieties. 

Among plants called plum, but of other genera than Prunus, are 
the Australian plum ( CargiUia arhorea and C. australis), of the same 
family with the persimmon. Blood plum, the West African Hmma- 
tostaphes harteri. Cocoa plum, the Spanish nectarine. Date plum. 
Gingerbread plum, the West African Parhiarium niacrophyllum. 
Gopher plum, the Ogeechee lime. Gray plum. Guinea plum. Indian 
plum, several species of Flacourtia. 

Definition in the Century Encyclopedic Dictionary: (1) A 
fruit of any of the trees called plums ; specifically, the fruit of the 
tree of the genus PrunuH, distinguished from the peach and apricot 
by its smooth surface, smaller size, and unwrinkled stone, and from 
the cherry by the bloom on its surface and commonly larger size. 
Plums are of use chiefly as a domestic fruit (the Green Gage being 
esteemed the best of all varieties), and as a dried fruit in the form of 
prunes. Locally a liquor is manufactured from them, and sometimes 
an oil is expressed from the kernels. 

(2) One of several small fruits of the genus Prrinus, forming the 
section Pnnn/s proper. The numerous varieties of the common gar- 
den plum are often classed as P. domestica ; but all these, together 
with the Bullace plum, known as P. insititia, are believed to be 
derived ultimately from P. .spinosa {P. conntnmis), the blackthorn 
or sloe of Europe and temperate Asia, in its truly wild state a much- 



THK PLUM IN KANSAS. O 

branched shrub, the branches often ending in a stout thorn. Plum 
wood is useful in cabinet-work and turnery. The plum is chiefly 
cultivated in France (in the valley of Loire), in Germany, and in 
Bosnia, Servia, and Croatia. In America the plum suffers greatly 
from the ravages of the curculio. The Japanese plum iP.japon'fca), 
though not insect proof, is a valued acquisition in California and the 
southern United States. 

Cherry plum : A cherry-like form of the common jjlum, the variety 
P. )nyrobalan((. Also called Myrobalan plum. 

Wild plum: Any undomesticated plum. Specially {a) the P. 
><pino.sa. (b) In eastern North America, the wild yellow or red plum, 
or Canada plum, P. a)ii('ric(ni(( ; it has a well-colored fruit, with a 
pleasant pulp, but tough acerb skin ; is common along streams, and 
sometimes planted, {c) In western North America, P. suhcordata, 
whose red fruit, which is large and edible, is often gathered, {d) In 
South America, Pappea capensis. {e) In New South Wales, a tree, 
S'fdcroxylori aifstfah'f, with drujjaceous fruit, some very, tall, having 
a hard, pretty marked wood, available for cabinet jjurposes. 



PLUMS IN GENERAL. 

From Thomas's "American Fruit Culturist." 

In no branch of pomology has greater progress been made the past 
twenty years than in the improvement and development of our native 
plums and in the introduction of foreign varieties. The bringing in 
of the Japanese plums marks an era in fruit culture in the United 
States. 

Propagation : Seedl'uigs. — As with most fruits, plums rarely come 
true from seed, although some varieties vary but little from the parent 
stock. The stones should be selected from the choicest kinds, and 
treated in planting precisely as directed- for the peach, but greater 
care must be exercised to prevent their drying, which occurs much in 
consequence of their smaller size and thinner skin. It is better to 
crack them, without which many will not vegetate the first year. — 
Stocks. — The stocks heretofore used for growing plums have generally 
been seedlings of the domestic type (especially the Myrobalan, or 
Cherry plum), which, when the varieties of the European plums do 
well, are usually satisfactory, although upon light or unfavorable soils 
they are apt to produce feeble and slow growing seedlings. For the 
Southern states the Chickasaw stock is preferable, and in the Northern 
states and throughout the country generally seedlings of the best of 
the americana group, in consequence of their greater hardiness, are 



6 . THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

most desirable of all. Peach stocks, used in the past to some extent, 
are now seldom propagated upon. All trees grown on Chickasaw 
stock are inclined to sucker. Plums of the domestica group grafted 
upon native stocks are said to grow so poorly as to overtop the stock, 
and become liable to injury from strong winds. 

Grafting and Budding : Crown grafting is recommended by most 
of the experiment stations. The scions should be cut in the fall, 
three or four buds to each. Put in the scions early in the spring, 
before there are any signs of the buds starting. Budding must be 
done while the stocks are at the period of their most vigorous growth, 
provided sufficiently matured buds can be found, which is usually 
soon after midsummer. If deferred, the bark will not peel freely 
and the buds will not adhere. 

Cultivation : The best soil, usually, is a strong, rich, clayey loam. 
On many light soils the tree grows with less vigor, independently of 
which the crop is more frequently destroyed by the curculio, a per- 
vious soil affording a more ready place of shelter for the young in- 
sects on their escape from the fallen fruit. A few varieties are well 
adapted to rather dry as well as light lands. Applications of potash 
and ground bone, as usual with other fruits, is of advantage in in- 
creasing the fruitfulness of the plum. In planting orchards a suitable 
distance is one rod apart, giving 160 trees to the acre. The ground 
should be manured and kept well cultivated, as the plum, especially 
when young, is sensitive to the effects of the weeds and grass of 
neglected culture. 

Impotency : It is well known that some of the native varieties are 
so deficient in fertile pollen tliat they are almost incapable of fertiliz- 
ing themselves. It is therefore advised that trees of the domestica 
class be planted with them, mixing them in the rows or groups. 

Classification : With but comparatively few exceptions the varie- 
ties of plums grown in gardens and for commercial purposes may be 
included in five groups. As this work aims to be of a practical rather 
than scientific character, these only will be considered. They are : 

1. The americana group {P. americana). Comprises a class of 
hardy, vigorous young trees, the wild forms of which are found grow- 
ing throughout the Northern states. The fruits differ widely in all 
their characteristics. 

2. The Wild Goose group {P. hortulana). This class has here- 
tofore been included in the americana, but it has recently been sepa- 
rated by Professor Bailey into an independent group, and includes 
the Miner type. 

3. The Chickasaw group {P. angusti folia). It is found growing 
wild in the Southern states. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS, 7 

4. The European group {P. domestica). Most of the finest plums 
which have been cultivated in the United States until quite recently 
belong to this class. They are all of European or Asiatic origin. 
Except in certain localities, they are invaluable. The Myrobalan 
and Marianna plums, which belong to this group, are largely used for 
stocks. 

5. The Japanese plums {P. trijlora). These fruits were imported 
into the United States about twenty-five years ago, and have grown 
steadily in jDopularity. They are generally of large size, brilliantly 
colored, and excellent in quality. Many seedlings and hybrids from 
this stock are being introduced. They are not all equally adapted for 
all sections of the country. Some are not hardy North, some bloom 
too early, and others do not do so well in the Southern states as far- 
ther north. 



THE PLUM {Primus domestica). 

Jinsacece, of botanists. Pnniirr, of the French; P/!ainitfiibciu)ii, German; 
Prugtio, Italian; ('h-uelo, Spanish. 

The original parent of most of the cultivated plums of our gardens is 
a native of Asia and the southern parts of Europe, but it has become 
naturalized in this country, and in many parts of it is produced in 
greatest abundance.* That the soil and climate of the Middle states 
are admirably suited to this fruit is sufficiently proved by the almost 
spontaneous production of such varieties as the Washington, JeflPer- 
son, Lawrence's Favorite, etc. ; sorts which equal or surpass in 
beauty or flavor the most celebrated plums of France or England. 

LTsES : The finer kinds of plums are beautiful dessert fruits, of rich 
and luscious flavor. They are not, perhaps, so entirely wholesome as 

* There are three species of wild plum indigenous to this country of tolerable 
flavor, but seldom cultivated in our gardens. They are the following: 

1. The Chickasaw plum (P. cJiicdfia Michaux). Fruit about three-fourths of 
an inch in diaHieter, round, and red or yellowish red, of a pleasant, subacid flavor, 
ripens pretty early. Skin thin. The branches are thorny, the head rather bushy, 
with narrow lanceolate, serrulate leaves, looking at a little distance somewhat 

ike those of a peach tree. It usually grows about twelve or fourteen feet high ; 
but on the prairies of Arkansas it is only three or four feet high, and in this form 
it is also common in Texas. The Dwarf Texas plum, described by Kenrick, is 
only this species. It is quite ornamental. 

2. Wild red or yellow plum (J*, auiericana Marshall)* Fruit roundish oval, 
skin thick, reddish orange, with a juicy, yellow, subacid pulp. The leaves are 
ovate., coarsely serrate, and the old branches rough and somewhat thorny. Grows 
in hedges and by the banks of streams from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Tree 
from ten to fifteen feet high. Fruit ripens in July and August. 

3. The Beach plum or Sand plum [P. niaritima Wang). A low shrub, with 
stout straggling branches, found mostly on the sandy seacoast, from Massachu- 
setts to Virginia, and seldom ripening well elsewhere. Fruit roundish, scarcely 
an inch in diameter, red or purple, covered with a bloom. Pleasant, but some- 
what astringent. Leaves oval, finely serrate. 



O THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

the peach and the pear, as, from their somewhat cloying and flatulent 
nature, unless when very perfectly ripe, they are more likely to disa- 
gree with weak stomachs. For the kitchen, the plum is also very 
highly esteemed, being i^rized for tarts, pies, canning, sweetmeats, etc. 
In the south of France an excellent spirit is made from this fruit fer- 
mented with honey. In the western part of New York, where they 
are very abundant, they are halved, stoned and dried in the sun or 
ovens in large quantities, and are then excellent for winter use. For 
eating, the plum should be allowed to hang on the tree till perfectly 
ripe, and the fruit will always be finer in proportion as the tree has a 
more sunny exposure. The size and quality of the fruit is always 
greatly improved by thinning the fruit when it is half grown. Indeed, 
to prevent rotting, and to have this fruit in its highest perfection, no 
two ijlums should be allowed to touch each other while growing, and 
those who thus thin them are amply repaid by the sui^erior quality 
of the fruit. 

One of the most important forms of the plum in common is that of 
prunes, as they are exported from France to every part of the world. 
We quote the following interesting account of the best mode of pre- 
paring prunes from the Arboretum Britannicum : 

The best prunes are made near Tours, of the St. Catherine plum 
and the Prune d'Agen; and the best French plums (so called in Eng- 
land) are made in Provence, of the Perdrigon Blanc, the Brignole, and 
the Prune d'Ast ; the Provence plums being the most fleshy and hav- 
ing always most bloom. Both kinds are, however, made of these and 
other kinds of plums in various parts of France. The plums are 
gathered when just ripe enough to fall from the trees on their being 
slightly shaken. They are then laid separately on forms or sieves 
made of wickerwork or latk, and exposed for several days to the sun, 
till they become as soft as ripe medlars. When this is the case they 
are put into a spent oven, shut quite close, and left there for twenty- 
four hours ; they are then taken out and, the oven being slightly 
reheated, they are again put in when it is rather warmer than it was be- 
fore. The next day they are taken out and turned by slightly shaking 
the sieves. The oven is again heated, and they are put in a third 
time when the oven is one-foiirth degree hotter than it was the second 
time. After remaining twenty-four hours they are taken out and left 
to get quite cold. They are then rounded, an operation which is per- 
formed by turning the stone in the plum without breaking the skin 
and pressing the two ends together between the thumb and finger. 
They are again put upon the sieves, which are placed in an oven from 
which the bread has just been drawn. The doors of the oven are 
closed, and crevices are stopped around it with clay or dry grass. An 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. \f 

hour afterward the plums are taken out and the oven is again shut 
with a cup of water in it for about two hours. When the water is so 
w^arm as just to be able to bear the finger in it, the prunes are again 
placed in the oven and left there for twenty-four hours, when the- 
operation is finished, and they are put loosely into small, long and 
rather deep boxes for sale. The common sorts are gathered by shak- 
ing the trees ; but the finer kinds, for making French prunes, must 
be gathered in the morning, before the rising of the sun, by taking 
hold of the stalk between the finger and thumb, without touching the 
fruit, which is laid gently on a bed of vine leaves in a basket. When 
the baskets are filled without the plums touching each other, they are 
removed to the fruit room, where they are left for two or three days 
exjDosed to the sun and air, after which the same process is employed 
as for the others, and inr that way the delicate bloom is retained on 
the fruit even when quite dry. 

Pkopagation and Culture : The plum is usually propagated in 
this country by sowing the seeds of any free-growing variety (avoid- 
ing the Damsons, which are not readily w^orked), and budding them, 
when two years old, with finer sorts. The stones should be planted 
as soon as gathered, in broad drills (as in planting peas), but about 
an inch and a half deeper. In good soil the seedlings will reach 
eighteen inches or tw^o feet in height the next season, and in the au- 
tumn or the ensuing spring they may be taken from the seed-bed, 
their tap-roots reduced, and all that are of suitable size planted at 
once in the nursery rows, the smaller ones being thickly bedded until 
after another season's growth. The stocks planted out in the nursery 
will ordinarily be ready for working the ensuing midsummer, and, as 
the plum is quite difficult to bud in this dry climate if the exact sea- 
son is not chosen, the budder must watch the condition of the trees 
and insert his buds as early as they are sufficiently firm, say, in this 
neighborhood, about the 10th of July. Insert the buds, if possible, 
OQ the north side of the stock, that being more protected from sun, 
and tie the bandage rather more tightly than for other trees. The 
English propagate very largely, by layers, three varieties of the com- 
mon plum — the Muscle, the Brussels, and the Pear plum, which are 
almost exclusively employed for stocks with them. But we have not 
found these stocks superior to the seedlings raised from our common 
l^lums (the Blue Gage, Horse plum, etc.) so abundant in all our gar- 
dens. For dwarfing, the seedlings of the Mirabelle are chiefiy em- 
ployed. Open-standard culture is the universal mode in America, as 
the plum is one of the hardiest of fruit-trees. It requires little or 
no pruning beyond that of thinning out a crowded head or taking 
away decayed or broken branches, and this should be done before 



10 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

midsummer, to prevent the flow of gum. Old trees that have become 
barren may be renovated by heading them in pretty severely, cover- 
ing the wounds with a solution of gum shellac, and giving them a 
good top-dressing at the roots. 

Soil : The plum will grow vigorously in almost every part of this 
country, but it only bears its finest and most abundant crops in heavy 
loams or in soils in which there is a considerable mixture of clay. In 
sandy soil the tree blossoms and sets jolentiful crops, but they are 
rarely perfected, falling a prey to the curculio, an insect that harbors 
in the soil and seems to find it difficult to penetrate or live in one of a 
heavy texture, while a warm, light, sandy soil is exceedingly favorable 
to its projjagation. It is also undoubtedly true that a heavy soil is 
naturally the most favorable one. The surprising facility with which 
superior new varieties are raised merely by ordinary reproduction 
from seed in certain parts of the valley of the Hudson, as at Hudson 
or near Albany, where the soil is quite clayey, and also the delicious 
flavor and great productiveness and health of the plum tree there, al- 
most without any care, while in adjacent districts on rich sandy land it 
is a very uncertain bearer, are very convincing proofs of the great im- 
portance of clayey soil for this fruit.* When the whole soil of a place 
is light and sandy, we would recommend the employment of pure yel- 
low loam or yellow clay in place of manure when preparing the border 
or spaces for planting the plum. Very heavy clay, burned slowly by 
mixing in large heaps with brush or fagots, is, at once, an admirable 
manure and alterative for such soils. Swamj) muck is also one of the 
best substances, and especially that from salt-water marshes. Com- 
mon salt we have found one of the best fertilizers for the plum tree. 
It generally promotes its health and luxuriance. 

Insects and Diseases : There are but two drawbacks to the culti- 
vation of the plum in the United States, but they are in some districts 
so great as almost to destroy the value of this tree. These are the 
curculio and the knots. The curculio, or plum-weevil {Bhynchoinus 
rienaphar), is the uncompromising foe of all smooth-stone fruits. 
The cultivator of the plum, the nectarine, and the apricot, in many 
parts of the country, after a flattering profusion of snowy blossoms 
and an abundant promise in the thickly set young crops of fruit, has 
the frequent mortification of seeing nearly all, or indeed, often, the 
whole crop, fall from the trees when half or two-thirds grown. If he 
examines these fallen fruits he will perceive on the surface of each, 
not far from the stalk, a small semicircular scar. This scar is the 

* When this was written it was generally supposed that the curculio would not 
attack the fruit of plums growing on trees in clayey soil, but practical experience 
has shown that such is not the fact. — Revisek. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 11 

crescent-shaped insignia of that "little Turk," the curculio, an insect 
so small as, perhaps, to have escaped his observation for years, unless 
particularly drawn to it, but which, nevertheless, appropriates to him- 
self the whole product of a tree, or an orchard of a thousand trees. 
The habits of this curculio, or plum-weevil, are not yet fully and en- 
tirely ascertained. But careful observation has resulted in establish- 
ing the following points in its history : 

The j)lum-weevil is a small, dark-brown beetle, with spots of white, 
yellow, and black. Its length is scarcely one -fifth of an inch. On 
its back are two black humps, and it is furnished with a pretty long, 
curved throat and snout, which, when it is at rest, is bent between the 
fore legs. It is also provided with two wings, with which it flies 
through the air. How far this insect flies is yet a disputed point, 
some cultivators affirming that it scarcely goes farther than a single 
tree, and other believe that it flies over a whole neighborhood. 
Our own observation inclines us to the belief that this insect emi- 
grates just in proportion as it finds in more or less abundance the 
tender fruit for depositing its eggs. Very rarely do we see more than 
one puncture in a plum, and, if the insects are abundant, the trees of 
a single spot will not afford a sufficient number for the purpose ; then 
there is little doubt (as we have seen them flying through the air) 
that the insect flies farther in search of a larger supply. But usually, 
we think, it remains nearly in the same neighborhood, or migrates 
but slowly. About a week or two after the blossoms have fallen from 
the trees, if we examine the fruit of the plum in a district where this 
insect abounds, we shall find the small, newly formed fruit beginning 
to be j)unctured by the proboscis of the plum-weevil. The insect is 
so small and shy that, unless we watch closely, it is very likely to 
escape our notice. But if we strike or shake the tree suddenly, it 
will fall in considerably numbers on the ground, drawn up as if dead, 
and resembling a small raisin, or, perhaps more nearly, a ripe hemp- 
seed. 

From the 1st of April until August this insect may be found, 
though we think its depredations on fruit, and indeed its appearance 
in any quantity, are confined to the months of May'' and June in this 
climate. In places where it is very abundant, it also attacks, to some 
extent, the cherry, the peach, and even the apple and pear. Early in 
July the punctured plums begin to fall rapidly from the tree. The 
egg deposited in each, at first invisible, has become a white grub or 
larva, which slowly eats its way toward the stone or pit. As soon as 
it reaches this point the fruit falls to the ground. Here, if left un- 
disturbed, the grub soon finds its way into the soil. There, according 
to most cultivators of fruits, and to our own observation, the grubs or 



12 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

larva remain till the ensuing spring, when in their perfect form they 
again emerge as beetles and renew their ravages on the fruit. It is- 
true that Harris and some other naturalists have proved that the in- 
sect does sometimes undergo its final transformation and emerge from 
the ground in twenty days, but we are inclined to the opinion that 
this only takes place with a small portion of the brood which, per- 
haps, have penetrated but a very short distance below the surface of 
the soil. These, making their appearance in midsummer and finding 
no young fruit, deposit their eggs in the young branches of trees, etc. 
But it is undeniable that the season of the plum-weevil is early spring, 
and that most of the larva? which produce the annual swarm remain 
in the soil during the whole period intervening since the fall of the 
previous year's fruit. Plum trees growing in hard-trodden court- 
yards usually bear plentiful crops. 

The modes of destroying the plum-weevil are the following : 

1. Shaking the tree and killing the beetles. Watch the young 
fruit, and you will perceive when the insect makes its appearance by 
its punctures upon them. Spread some sheets under the trees and 
strike the trunk pretty sharply several times with a wooden mallet. 
The insects will quickly fall, and should be killed immediately. This 
should be repeated daily for weeks, or so long as the insects continue 
to make their appearance. Repeated'trials have proved beyond ques- 
tion that this rather tedious mode is a very effectual one if persisted 
in.* 

Coops of chickens placed about under the trees at this season will 
assist in destroying the insects. 

Dr. E. S. Hull, of Alton, 111., has invented a machine for catching 
the curculio on a large scale for orchard culture, but not having seen 
it, we copy an extract from the Hearth and Home: 

"This is nothing but a gigantic white umbrella turned bottom up- 
ward, mounted upon an immense wheelbarrow, and split in front to 
receive the trunk of the tree which is to be operated upon. At the 
interior end of the split in front is a padded bumper, which strikes 
against the trunk as the operator w^heels the barrow, first against one 

* Merely shaking the trees is not sufficient. The following memorandum, as 
additional proof, we quote from the Ornef>ee Farmer: "Under a tree in a remote 
part of the fruit garden, having spread the sheets, I made the follojving experi- 
ment: On shaking the tree well I caught five curculios, on jarring it well with 
the hand I caught twelve more, and on striking the tree with a stone eight more 
dropped on the sheet. I was now convinced that I had been in error, and call- 
ing in assistance and using a hammer to jar the tree violently, we caught in less 
than an hour more than 2(J0 of these insects." We will add to this, that to pre- 
vent injury to the tree a large wooden mallet should be substituted for a hammer, 
and it is better if a thick layer of cloth is bound over its head. A sharp, stun- 
ning blow is found necessary to readily dislodge the insect, and as such, when 
given directly upon the bark of the tree, often causes a bruise, it is found to be 
a good practice to saw off a small limb and strike the blow upon the stump. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. lo 

tree and then against another, and with two or three sudden jars fetches 
all the insects off the boughs into the white umbrella, which gapes 
widely open to receive them. Really, it is a most magnificent insti- 
tution, but for its practical success three things are necessary:- (1) 
That the land should be decently clean, and not overgrown with rank 
weeds four or five feet high. (2) That the orchard be a sufficiently 
large one to pay the interest on the prime cost of the machine. (3) 
That the tree have a clean trunk of some three or four feet."* 

2. Gathering the fruit and destroying the larva'. As the in- 
sect, in its larva or grub form, is yet within the plums when they fall 
prematurely from the tree, it is a very obvious mode of exterminating 
the next year's brood to gather these falleai fruits daily and feed them 
to swine, boil or otherwise destroy them. A simple and easy way of 
covering the difficulty, when there is a plum orchard or enclosure, is 
that of turning in swine and fowls during the whole season when the 
stung plums are dropping to the ground. The fruit, and the insects 
contained in it, will thus be devoured together. This is an excellent 
expedient for the farmer who bestows his time grudgingly on the cares 
of the garden. 

THE KNOTS, OR BLACK GUM. 

In some parts of the country this is a most troublesome disease, 
and it has, in neighborhoods where it has been suffered to take its 
course, even destroyed the whole race of plum trees. The knots is a 
disease attacking the bark and wood. The former at first becomes 
swollen, afterward bursts, and finally assumes the appearance of large, 
irregular, black lumps, with a hard, cracked, uneven surface, quite 
dry within. The passage of the sap upwards becomes stopped by the 
compression of the branch by the tumor, and finally the poison seems 
to disseminate itself by the downward iiow of the sap through the 
whole trunk, breaking out in various parts of it.' The sorts of plum 
most attacked by this disease are those with purple fruit, and we have 
never known the green- or yellow-fruited varieties infected until the 
other sorts had first become filled with the knots. The common 
Horse plum and Damson appear to be the first to fall a prey to it, and 
it is more difficult to eradicate it from them than from most other 
sorts. The common Morello cherry is also very often injured by the 
same disease, and in some districts the sweet cherry also. There is 
yet some doubt respecting the precise cause of these knotty excres- 
cences, though there is every reason to think it is the work of an in- 
sect. Professor Peck and Doctor Harris believe that they are caused 
by the same curculio or plum-weevil that stings the fruit ; the second 
brood of which, finding no fruit ready, choose the branches of this 
tree and the cherry. This observation would seem to be confirmed 
by the fact that the grubs or larv?e of the plum-weevil are frequently 



14 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

found in these warts, and that the beetles have been seen stinging the 
branches. On the other hand, the following facts are worthy of atten- 
tion : First, in some parts of the country where the curculio has been 
troublesome for many years the knots have never been known ; sec- 
ond, in many cases the knots have been abundant on plum trees when 
the fruit was entirely fair and uninjured by the curculio, even upon 
the same branches. 

These facts seem so irreconcilable with the opinion that the cur- 
culio produces both these effects, that we rather incline at present to 
the belief that, though the curculio deposits its eggs in the tumors on 
the branches while they are yet soft and tender, yet it is not to the 
curculio, but to some other insect or cause, that we owe this unsightly 
disease. Practically, however, this is of little account. The experi- 
ence of many persons besides ourselves has proved most satisfactorily 
that it is easy to extirpate this malady, if it is taken in season and 
unremittingly pursued. As early as possible in the spring the whole 
of the infected trees should be examined, and every branch and twig 
that shows a tumor should be cut off and immediately burned. What- 
ever may be the insect, we thus destroy it, and, as experience has 
taught us that the malady spreads rapidly, we will thus effectually 
prevent its increase. If the trees are considerably attacked by it, it 
will probably be necessary to go over them again about the middle of 
May, but, usually, once a year will be sufficient. If any of tke trees 
are very much covered with these knots, it is better to head back the 
shoots severely, or dig them up and burn them outright, and it will 
be necessary to prevail upon your neighbors, if there are near ones, 
to enter into the plan, or your own labors will be of little value. Pur- 
sue this simple and straightforward practice for two or three seasons 
(covering any large wounds made with a solution of gum shellac), 
and the knots will be found to disappear, the curculio to the con- 
trary notwithstanding. 



BOTANY OF THE PLUMS AND CHERRIES. 

By Chaeles E. Bessey, Ph. D. ( Nebraska Horticultural Report.) 

Plums and cherries belong to the botanical genus Pnmus, which 
in turn is a member of the family known to botanists under the name 
Rosacea'. The genus contains, all told, nearly 100 species, widely 
distributed in temperate and tropical countries north of the equator. 
Few, if any, species occur in a wild state south of the equator, and 
none whatever occur in southern South America, tropical and south- 
ern Africa, and Australia and the Pacific islands. The genus may 
be briefly characterized as follows : . . . 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 15 

C. Americana Plums {Pseudoprimus). Flowers single or um- 
bellate, white or pale rose color; leaves in the bud folded lengthwise 
along the midrib.* 

Canada Plum {P. nigra Alton). A small tree, with broadly ob- 
long-ovate to obovate leaves, the leafstalks bearing two glands ; 
calyx lobes glandular-serrate ; fruit oblong-oval, one to one and a 
quarter inches long, with a tough, thick, orange-red skin and yellow 
flesh ; stone compressed. Original distribution : In Canada, from 
Newfoundland to the Assiniboin river, and probably in the northern 
portion of the United States. Since this species has been confused 
with the next one it is difficult to say what cultivated varieties have 
sprung from it. Professor Sargent says, in the Silva of North Amer- 
ica : "Some attention has been paid in Canada to selecting the best 
wild varieties for cultivation. Varieties of this species are propagated 
and sold by nurserymen in some of the Western states, and to it can 
be referred the well-known Purple Yosemite, Quaker and Weaver 
plums." 

Common Wild Plum {P. (unevlcana Marsh.) A small tree, with 
oval or slightly obovate leaves, the leafstalks without glands ; calyx 
lobes entire ; fruit globose, one inch or less in diameter, with a tough, 
thick, red skin and yellow flesh ; stone turgid. Original distribution : 
New York, New Jersey, and Florida, to Montana, Colorado, and New 
Mexico. In Nebraska it is found in a wild condition in every part of 
the state. This has been very prolific in cultivated varieties. Profes- 
sor Sargent refers the following varieties to this species : De Soto, 
Itaska, Forest Garden, Louisa, Minnetonka, Cheney, Deep Creek, 
Kickapoo, Forest Rose, and Miner; but Professor Bailey refers the 
last named to P. hortvlana. 

Wild Goose Plum {P. hortulana Bailey). A small tree, with 
ovate-lanceolate leaves, the leafstalk bearing glands ; calyx lobes 
glandular- serrate ; fruit globose, two-thirds of an inch in diameter, 
with a thick, red or yellow skin and hard, thin flesh ; stone turgid. 
Original distribution : In the Mississippi valley, from central Illinois 
southward. The cultivated varieties referred to this species by Pro- 
fessor Bailey are Wild Goose, Golden Beauty, Missouri Apricot, 
Moreman, Reed, Roulette, Wayland, and Miner. 

*A11 the American species of plums here indicated are more nearly related to 
the cherries (section B, Cerasus) than to the true plums (section E, Prunophora) 
of the old world; and they might quite properly bear the general name of 
"Cherry plums." Doctor Koehne, indeed, in his "Deutsche Dendrologie," goes 
so far as to include them all in the cherry section of the genus Prunus. I prefer, 
however, to follow Doctor Dippel (Handbuch der Laubholzkunde, pp. 622-629) in 
assigning them to a separate but closely allied section (Pseudoprimus), which 
translated means literally the "false plums." 



16 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

Chiskasaw Plum {P. angastifolia Marsh.) A small tree, with 
lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate leaves, the leafstalk bearing two 
glands ; calyx lobes glandular-ciliate ; fruit globose, half an inch in 
diameter, with a thin, red skin and a juicy, yellow flesh ; stone turgid. 
Original distribution : Apparently a native of the western or south- 
western portion of the Southern states, but it is not certainly known 
in a wild state. The cultivated varieties of this species are given by 
Professor Bailey as Newman, Arkansas, Lombard, Caddo Chief, Lone 
Star, Jennie Lucas, Pottawatomie, and Robinson. 

Beach Plum (/-*. maritime Wang.) A low shrub, with ovate or 
oval leaves ; fruit globular, one-half to one inch in diameter, with a 
thick, tough, purple or crimson skin ; stone turgid. Original distribu- 
tion : On the sands of the seacoast, from New Brunswick to Virginia. 
This species has given rise, under cultivation, to a variety known as 
Bassett's American. 

Sand Plum. {P. watson't Sarg.) A shrub six to ten feet high; 
leaves ovate, acute, rounded or wedge-shaped at the base, finely cren- 
ulate- serrate, lustrous on the upper surface, pale on the lower; flowers 
pure white, in few-flowered clusters ; fruit globose, or rarely oblong, 
orange-red, two-thirds of an inch in diameter, containing a yellow, 
juicy flesh (edible, but slightly austere), and a turgid, smooth, but 
porulose stone. Original distribution : Southern Nebraska to central 
Kansas. 

Professor Sargent, whose description I have given slightly modi- 
iied, says that "Its hardiness in regions of extreme cold, its compact, 
dwarf habit, abundant flowers and handsome fruit make it an orna- 
mental fruit of first-rate value, and, as selection and good cultivation 
will doubtless improve the size and quality of the fruits, it will, per- 
haps, become a valuable inmate of small-fruit gardens."* This is 
the plant of which I wrote as follows in 1891 if "Occasionally I hear 
of a 'Sand plum,' said to grow in the southwestern and western parts 
of the state. No authentic specimens have been seen, although I 
have in my collection some twigs and leaves from plants cultivated 
under this name, and thought, by the growers, to have been taken 
up from wild patches in the state. Although lacking in flowers or 
fruits, these cultivated Sand plums appear to be P. chicasa, the 
Chickasaw plum. The leaves of these specimens are much smaller 
than those of the ordinary wild plums ; they are also smoother and 
firmer, and the margins have smaller serrations." I was mistaken in 
supiDosing this to be the same as the Chickasaw plum, but, as Profes- 

* "Garden and Forest," April 4, 1894. 

t Preliminary Report on the Native Trees of Nebraska. Bull. Agr. Exp. 
Station, No. 18. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 17 

sor Bailey has pointed out, it is unquestionably closely related to that 
species. The Sand plum is of interest to us not only on account of 
its being a native of the plains, but also as having produced the 
"Utah Hybrid cherry" by hybridizing with the Nebraska Sand 
cherry. 

Simon's Peach (P. simonii Carr). A small tree, with dark green, 
oblong-elliptical, short-petioled, finely or irregularly serrated leaves, 
which are three to four or five inches long and three-fourths to one 
and a half inches wide ; flowers small, rose-red ; fruit globose, flat- 
tened on the ends, one and a quarter inches long by one and a half 
inches broad, dark red, with a hard, yellow flesh ; stone furrowed and 
pitted, flattened, sharp-edged. Original distribution : China. This 
new fruit has attracted much attention under the name given above, 
as well as " Simon's plum" and "Apricot plum," but although a pretty 
fruit, with remarkable keeping qualities, it is said to lack one very 
essential quality, viz., palatability. Professor Bailey says: "The 
flavor in all the specimens I have tasted is very disagreeable, being 
mawkish, bitter, and leaving a pronounced bitter-almond taste in the 
mouth. I have never tried a specimen which I could say was edible, 
and this is an unwilling confession, because the fruit is exceedingly 
attractive to look upon." However, upon the Pacific coast it is con- 
siderably grown, and market quotations given by Professor Bailey 
indicate that it brings high jjrices. 

Myrobalan Plum. {P. myrohalana Lois).— A shrub or small 
tree, bearing thin, elliptical or ovate-elliptical leaves, which are smooth 
and green above, light green below, and hairy on the ribs, finely and 
irregularly serrate, and one and a half to two inches long and about 
half as wide ; flowers single or in twos, stalked, small, and white ; fruit 
globose, about an inch in diameter, yellowish-red, its flesh somewhat 
soft, sweetish, enclosing a smooth, flat and sharp-pointed stone. 
Original distribution: Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Turkestan, and 
southwestern Liberia. This species is used mainly as a stock upon 
which to bud other kinds of plums. Several varieties known as 
"Cherry plum" have been produced by long cultivation, but they 
do not appear to possess much merit. Recent studies of the plum 
have led Professor Bailey to conclusions that the De Caradeuc is of 
this species, and that the Marianna is of this species or a hybrid be- 
tween it and some American plum, possibly the Wild Goose. 

Common Plum {P. domestica Lois). A moderate-sized tree, with 
thin, smooth, elliptical, or oblong-elliptical leaves, which are one and 
a half to three inches long and half as wide ; flowers one to several in 
a cluster, greenish-white, appearing with the leaves ; fruit blue-black, 
globose, elongated, an inch or more in diameter, with soft, yellowish, 
—2 



18 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

sweet flesh, containing a flattened, sharj^-edged stone. Original dis- 
tribution : Not certainly known, but probably in Asia Minor, Among 
the many varieties of this species now grown in the eastern United 
States the following are given by Professor Bailey : Lombard, Bavay, 
Green Gage, Bradshaw or Niagara, Coe's Golden Drop or Silver Prune, 
French and Shropshire Damsons, German Prune, Fellenberg, Gueii, 
Moore's Arctic, Green Gage, Prune d'Agen, Hungarian Prune, Copper, 
Jetferson, Imperial Gage, Quackenbos, Yellow Egg, Washington, and 
French Prune. 

Japanese Plum {P. triflora Roxb.) A small tree, with smooth, 
oval or ovate leaves, one and a half to three inches long, and half as 
wide ; flowers usually in threes, on short stalks ; fruit globose, purple, 
with reddish-yellow flesh. Original distribution : Northern China. 
Of this species, which has but recently been introduced from Japan, 
Professor Bailey gives the following varieties : Kelsey, Burbank, 
Abundance, Satsuma, Chabot, Maru, Ogon, Red Nagate. Some of 
these may prove hardy in Kansas. 



AMERICAN PLUMS FOR AMERICA. 

Read before the American Pomological Society, in September, 1899, by E. S. Goff, professor, 
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. 

It would be folly to claim, for the sake of argument, that the intro- 
duced plums have proven a failure in the United States. Our fruit 
markets during the plum season would belie such a proposition. The 
European plum, with proper culture, succeeds over a very considerable 
part of our country, and its choicer varieties are among the most de- 
licious of fruits. The more recently introduced Japanese plums have 
doubtless gained ground faster in our culture and in our markets than 
any other exotic fruit that has been brought to our country. The 
remarkable vigor and ijrolificacy of this species will insure its perma- 
nence on our soil, and while the average quality of its fruit is very 
low, the excellence of a few of its varieties leaves no reason to doubt 
that it will yet furnish plums as deliciou.s as the choicest European 
sorts. But both the European and Japanese plums have inherent de- 
fects that must forever prevent either of them from becoming the 
national plum of North America. The flower-buds of neither are re- 
liable to endure the winters of the Mississippi valley much north of 
Mason and Dixon's line. The European plum is so susceptible to 
the curculio that its fruit can be secured only at the price of inter- 
minable warfare against this insect. The Japanese plums bloom so 
early in spring that they are comparatively unsafe, even in many lo- 
calities where their flower-buds have passed the winter. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 19 

The European plum has been introduced nearly 300 years, yet it 
has not become a companion of the apple tree, the cherry tree, the 
raspberry and the currant in every thrifty farmer's or laborer's yard 
anywhere in our land, unless it be on the Pacific slope, for the reason 
that it cannot be depended upon to bear fruit without special treatment. 
The Japanese plums may become more of a family fruit than the 
European sorts have become, but their uncertainty of fruitage renders 
this improbable. We have, however, native species of the plum that, 
when grown in their proper areas, are capable of supplying plum 
trees for every farmer's and laborer's garden in our land that shall be 
as reliable for fruiting as the apple, with little, if any, more special 
knowledge or care than the apple requires ; of which the fruit is ex- 
cellent for all culinary purposes, and of which the choicest varieties 
are scarcely surpassed in delicacy and richness by any fruit of our 
country, and for which the market demand is rapidly increasing. 
The americana plum is hardy, both in tree and flower-bud, through- 
out the United States and far northward into Canada. The past win- 
ter its flower-buds endured tifty-two degrees below zero in Manitoba, 
where the Oldenburg ( Duchess ) apple, in the same locality, had its 
last year's growth frozen back three-fourths. Other species of the 
native plums succeed in the far South and Southwest. 

It may be safely said that no other tree fruit of equal value has so 
wide a climatic range in North America as the native plums, and! 
throughout the northern Mississippi valley no other tree fruit can 
be depended upon to yield more dollars i3er acre in ten-year periods 
than these native i^lums. The native plums, especially of the ameri- 
cana species, are exceedingly variable. At the risk of incurring the 
ridicule of this the most dignified association of fruit-growers in 
America, if not in the world, I make the unqualified statement that 
the richest and most delicious quality that I have ever tasted in 
plums has been found in native specimens. It is true that the av- 
erage americana plum has a thick and often acerb skin, which in 
objectionable, but there are exceptions to this rule. A few of the 
choicer varieties, when fully ripe, have a skin nearly or quite as thin 
as that of the average European or Japanese plum. 

In the americana plum we sometimes find varieties that are per- 
fect freestones. It should be remembered that, while the European 
and Japanese plums have been in culture for many centuries, the 
most highly improved of our native plums are but two or three gen- 
erations from the wild-plum thicket. When we consider this fact, 
their present value as a family and commercial fruit certainly otfers 
remarkable XDromise. There is no reason to doubt that during the 
coming century the native plums will yield varieties that shall be 



20 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

equal in all respects to the choicest plums of foreign species, with 
the advantage that they will be more hardy and more uniformly pro- 
ductive. 

I would not prejudice any against the Euroi^ean or Japanese plums. 
Let all grow them who can. But I would remove the prejudice that 
exists in the minds of some, that the best natives are unworthy of 
culture where the foreign plums can be grown. The large market 
demand for the best native plums that have grown up in the West 
fully disproves such a proposition. Let us treat our native plums 
for what they unquestionably are — a most promising fruit, that is 
destined to play a most important part in American pomology ; let us 
seek to improve them by every means known to horticulture, and 
their future will certainly take care of itself. 



THE NATIVE SAND PLUM. 

From Press Bulletin No. 6, Kansas Experiment Station, 1898. 

Among the native fruits of Kansas there is none more interesting 
or valuable than the Sand plum {P. ivatsoni). Distributed abun- 
dantly over the western half of the state, it borders the streams and 
covers the adjacent sand-hills, sometimes extending into the clay up- 
lands, but always at a loss of vigor in growth and quality of fruit. 

In its natural habit it attains a height of from two to eight feet, 
having usually a tree-like form, though often branching and bearing 
fruit from ground to top. Branches horizontal, with a tendency to 
zigzag and tangled growth, and often terminating in sharp, spiny 
points. Twigs slender, of cherry-red color, and abundantly supplied 
with lenticels. Leaves thick, glabrous, very finely serrate, serrations 
sometimes so pointed as to be spiny. In shape leaves are usually 
acutely lanceolate, in length varying from one-half to two and one- 
half inches, and in habit conduplicate or trough-like when exposed 
to brilliant sunlight, but almost flat in dim light. Blossoms small, 
occurring in dense clusters in early spring. Fruit oblong to round, 
yellowish pink to dark red, one-half to one and one-fourth inches in 
diameter, ripening from July 1 to September 15. Stem one-fourth 
to three-fourths inch long, slender. Pit small, roundish to long, 
slender and pointed. The plant propagates most rapidly by sprouts 
from the roots. If a specimen is dug from a thicket, it will generally 
be- observed to have but a single large root, eight or ten inches below 
the surface, which extends to it and passes on, supporting perhaps 
half a dozen other bushes. 

The Sand plum has varied into many types. But it has not pro- 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 21 

duced, as we might suppose, different types for different localities ; it 
has crowded them close together, often in the same or adjacent 
thickets. Near the Arkansas river were found as many as six per- 
fectly distinct types on a ten-acre lot. Profusion of varieties is to be 
noted in every favored location. It has been thought that the roots 
of this hardy plum might make valuable stock for the grafting o£ 
domesticated varieties, but experiments at the station tend to prove 
the reverse. Numerous varieties were grafted, using P. ivatsoni as 
the stock. Failure in almost every instance was the result. The 
tender, succulent roots do not unite readily with a foreign scion. 
Even if a union were secured, the propensity of the stock to sprout 
would at once exert itself, resulting soon in a dense thicket. The 
propagation of the species is easily accomplished by means of root 
cuttings or seeds, preferably the latter. 

The following forms are the most valuable we have been able to 
find: 

1. A common type growing in almost pure sand, four to ten feet 
above the water level. Bushes in scattering thickets, two to four feet 
high, branching, and bearing fruit from the ground up. Leaves 
small, one to two inches long ; never open to a plain surface, thick, 
shining, finely serrate. Fruit three-fourths to one and one- eighth 
inches in diameter; globose. Color bright red, clouded over lemon- 
yellow ground. Flesh yellowish, tender, juicy, sweet, somewhat 
fibrous, and adhering firmly to the stone. Kipe in southern Kansas 
the first week in July. 

2. A small group of bushes growing in a very large thicket on the 
Arkansas river. Bushes extremely dwarfish but tree-like, three to 
four feet high. Branches unusually stout, growing laterally more 
than upright. Leaves larger than on common types, dark, shining 
green. Fruit large, one inch to one and one-fourth inches in diame- 
ter, rounded or flattened. Color dull red, but somewhat hidden by 
the heavy bloom. Flavor excellent. Ripe in latter part of July. A 
variety surpassing many cultivated sorts, 

• 3. A small clump of bushes found near the variety last described. 
Bushes small, two to three feet high. Foliage scant, leaves small. 
Fruit fine in appearance, one inch to one and one-fourth inches in 
diameter, roundish, bluish-pink color with delicate bloom. Skin thin. 
Flesh juicy, melting, rich. Flavor sweet and good. The most delir 
cious Sand plum that has yet come under our observation and worthy 
of place in any orchard. 

The hardiness of the Sand plum in its native state, its productive- 
ness and the excellent quality of its fruit are among its most promis- 
ing characteristics. By cultivation and proper breeding, the size. 



22 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

keeping and shipping qualities of this plum will, it is thought, be 
strengthened. The experiment station has now in operation extensive 
experiments along these lines. During the past season a large col- 
lection of data and of pits for planting has been made from the Sand- 
plum districts of the state. 



NOTES ON SEVERAL VARIETIES. 

The American Pomological Society, which is now half a century 
old, may safely be counted the best authority in this country on 
fruits and fruit-raising, and we append here a list of plums recom- 
mended by it, in its report for 1899, for the district comprising that 
part of Kansas below 2000 feet elevation : 

Prunus americana : As reliable — De Soto, Forest Garden, Hawk- 
eye, Ocheeda, Quaker, Rockford, and Rolling Stone. Extra, or double 
starred — Weaver, Wolf, and Wyant. Promising — Gaylord, New Ulm, 
Piper, and Stoddard. 

P. angustifolia : Yellow Transparent. Double starred — Caddo 
Chief and Pottawatomie. Promising — Newman. 

P. cerasifera : Marianna and its hybrids. 

P. domestica: Albert ( yellow), Bavay ( Bavay Green Gage, Reine 
Claude de Bavay), Hudson River, Purple Egg, Huling's Superb, Im- 
perial Gage, Italian Prune (Fellenberg), Smith Orleams, Wangen- 
heim, Washington, and Yellow Egg. Double starred — Damson, 
Lombard, and Shropshire Damson. 

P. hortnlana : Miner group (double starred) — Miner. Wayland 
group — Cumberland and Golden Beauty. Wild Goose group — 
Downing (Charles) and Wild Goose, (both double starred). 

P. triflora (Japan): Ogon, Red June, Red Negate, Satsuma, and 
Willard. Double starred — Abundance and Burbank. 

At the twenty-sixth biennial meeting of the American Pomological 
Society, at Philadelphia, in September, 1899, a Wilder silver medal 
was given to C. L. Watrous, of Des Moines, loM^n, for a collective ex- 
hibit of the following new plums : Brittlewood, Bursota, New Ulm, 
and Silver. 

THE RED-LEAVED PLUM. 

Our first plant of this was set upwards of twenty years ago, as we now re- 
member; at any rate it was just after its announcement in this country. The 
stock and scion were not congenial. The top grew luxuriantly enough, however 
for ten years or so, but the stock ceased to grow, so that the plant was strangled, 
so to say. Two years ago last fall we planted another Pissard plum. The tree 
is at present but eight feet high, yet it has borne freely. The plums are a full 
inch in diameter, either way, being round, and of a reddish-purple color. The 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 23 

quality is inferior, and the fruit would be of value only for preserves. The plums 
ripen very early, before those of any other variety that we have ever tried — this 
year July 12. As a small, purple-kaved tree, Pissard's plum has no equal. The 
leaves, when they first unfold, are of a brilliant purple. This grows darker dur- 
ing the summer and remains so until the leaves fall. — E. S. C, in Rural New 
Yorker. 

WILL PLUMS PAY? 

Plums are growing in demand every year at the same ratio as any other fruit. 
More plums are used now than ever before. True, they do n't bring the higher 
price they did twenty years ago, but relatively bring as much as other fruits 
and turn off as much money as other fruits. And now the season has been 
lengthened, both in early and late varieties. 

Heretofore the Wild Goose has been the first to ripen ; now the Milton leads 
it by two weeks. This is followed by the Red June, then Willard, Wild Goose, 
Charles Downing, Abundance, Burbank, Pottawatomie, the most prolific of all 
plums. This takes us through the midseason of plums. Of the late kinds are 
Forest Garden, Golden Beauty, De Soto, Wolf, Wickson, Arkansas Lombard, 
Hawkeye, Stoddard, and common Damson. The varieties suffering the most the 
past winter were Red June and Willard, both Japan sorts. The hardiest were 
Wild Goose, Miner, Pottawatomie, and Stoddard; also, Hawkeye and De Soto 
went through the winter unhurt. The latest-blooming varieties are Hawkeye, 
De Soto, Stoddard, and Wolf. 

To classify them. Red June, Willard, Abundance, Burbank, Hale and Wick- 
son are of Japan origin ; Wild Goose, Milton, Charles Downing, Pottawatomie 
and Arkansas Lombard are of the Chickasaw or red varieties: De Soto, Wolf, 
Forest Garden, Hawkeye, Stoddard and Wyant are of the American class. These 
are mostly natives of Iowa and other Northern states ; hence their hardiness. — 
G. F. E., in Western Fruit Grower. 

THE SATSUMA PLUM. 

A correspondent of the Eurcil Neiv Yorker says: "The criticisms that have 
been made by many, in relation to the Satsuma plum not fruiting freely, have 
seemed to apply to young trees, for we are all learning that as the trees of this 
variety grow older they are inclined to become very productive, in some cases so 
much so as to surpass nearly all others. It is a wonderful plum in its keeping 
and shipping qualities, and nothing can compare with it for cannmg purposes. 
I predict that within a few years Satsuma will take a much higher place in the 
opinion of orchardists than at the present time." 

CHARACTERISTIC POINTS OF THE ABUNDANCE, 

"Out of the great company of plums the public has sorted the two Japs, 
Abundance and Burbank," as some one neatly puts it. There may be nothing 
specially new to tell about these, yet there are two interesting items which a 
Countrji Gentleman correspondent says he has never seen in print concerning 
the Abundance plum, and these he gives as follows: 

The first is that the crop does not all mature at once. In fact, in looking 
over the tree while the fruit is yet green, it will be found that the plums vary 
greatly in size. This seems to be a difference in age, because it is maintained to 
the full period of maturity. Hence, the crop of a single tree never ripens all at 
once, or anything like it. While some of the specimens are fully ripe, others will 
be hard, green, and not even grown out. While this may be an objection to it 
as a market varierty, because of the increased labor of gathering, it certainly is 
a most valuable feature in the family orchard or garden, where the entire crop is 
not wanted at once. 



24 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

Another point which, if it has been noted, has escaped my attention is, that 
in order to secure the best flavor and the highest coloring in the Abundance 
plum it must be picked early and ripened in the house, like a Bartlett pear. If 
allowed to become soft and fully colored on the tree half the flavor is gone, and 
the bees and wasps will often be found garnering the little which remains. It 
may be gathered while yet green, and, if placed in a dark drawer, it will color up 
beautifully, with a delicate bloom, and reward you with a flavor of surprising ex- 
cellence. It is very juicy, sweet, and rich, and can be compared with nothing 
so well as the old genuine Green Gage, which I have always regarded as the 
standard in flavor and quality. While the flesh does not part so readily from 
the stone, which is very small, it does not cling to it as tenaciously as others of 
this species. Like the Green Gage, it is breaking and buttery in the mouth. 
And I have often seen specimens of that grand old variety, ripened in the full 
sun, that were colored much like the Abundance. In the Abundance, I think, 
we have its full cousin, at least as to flavor, while the brilliant coloring is more 
attractive, and its general vigor and productiveness make it more desirable. The 
little knight of the crescent calls around on time, of course, and leaves his well- 
known autograph. But that is the last of it for this thick-skinned Japanese 
member of the Prunus family. The plums grow right along and ripen up sound 
and perfect, without either eggs or larva? of any foe. Why not plant the Abun- 
dance plum ? 

Replying to some questions of a correspondent, the Bural Neiv Yorker says: 
" The Abundance trees are those that have an upright habit, and Burbank those 
that grow straggling and spreading in habit. The idea in pruning the Abun- 
dance trees should be to head them back from making tall, slim trees, and yet not 
have them too compact. To prevent the latter, some of the interior branches 
will probably need to be cut away. The heading in at the top should be done every 
year or two. The Burbank trees should be pruned so as to induce an upright 
growth, which may be done by cutting back the straggling and drooping 
branches." 

The Country Gentleman has this to say: "One of our correspondents who 
is so greatly in love with the Abundance plum says some true, as well as good 
things, about it. It is well to remember, however, that there are many other 
favorites in the list of plums. Burbank succeeds beyond measure with some 
growers. A few think there 's nothing like Satsuma. Still others say the old 
Lombard is most profitable of all. Some have made most money out of Wild 
Goose. And so it goes. The fact is there exists an endless diversity in the 
adaptation of special plums to particular localities; and these adaptations must 
be studied by the plum grower. No general recommendation of any one variety 
for all soils and all climates is safe. There are lots of good varieties, but the 
best of them fail in some localities. There is no variety which seems to succeed 
over a wide range of territory, like the Ben Davis apple or the Concord grape." 

A Windham county, Vermont, fruit-grower relates his experience with the 
Japan varieties: "A Burbank plum tree was set out three years ago last spring. 
When planted it was what is known in the nursery as a small tree, one year old. 
I prefer these small trees to the larger ones, for I get better roots thereon ; 
and while the tree is only a straight stalk I can, by cutting it back, get the low head 
which I so much desire. This particular tree measures eight and one-half feet 
in height, and the branches spread sixteen feet, while the trunk is only one foot 
from the ground to the first limbs. The past season in thinning the fruit I cut 
off seven-eighths of all the plums on the tree, and then picked about two and 
one-half bushels of the choicest fruit, that averaged six inches in circumference. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 25 

Some of the specimens measured six and three-fourths inches. The fruit was 
very evenly distributed over the tree. My method of trimming plum trees is to 
cut back at least two-thirds of each season's growth, and in the spring of 1897 I 
cut off from this tree many sprouts that measured six feet in length, leaving a 
stub three feet long. I believe that this tree, when the fruit was fully ripe, was 
the finest sight I ever saw in the fruit line." 

PLUMS THAT SUCCEED. 

People are becoming more interested in plums since the Japanese varieties 
were introduced. The introduction of this type has also increased the interest 
in varieties belonging to other classes. Peojjle are eagerly seeking information 
regarding varieties, and the experience of William Jenkins, of Knoxville, Tenn., 
as given below, will doubtless be of interest to those contemplating setting plums. 

Of the Japanese plums. Abundance, Burbank and Wickson have given the 
best results. Abundance is the best known of this class. It is very productive, 
and the fruit should be thinned to secure large specimens. Burbank is also well 
known. It is considered by Prof. L. H. Bailey as the best Japanese plum yet 
tested in New York. The fruit of Wickson is very large, deep maroon-red, firm, 
and of good quality. Besides the Japanese varieties, Mr. Jenkins regards the fol- 
lowing successful: Bradshaw, the fruit of which is large, dark purple, juicy, 
good, slightly acid; tree vigorous and productive. Lombard, medium size, violet 
red, flesh deep yellow, pleasant, fine quality; tree very prolific. Saratoga, oval, 
brownish red, flesh pale yellow; a late variety. Spaulding, medium size, yellow, 
green marbled, flesh pale yellow, very sweet. Peter's Yellow Gage, large, rich 
yellow, crimson dots next the sun, flesh greenish yellow, rich, sweet, very good. 
Archduke, large, black, prolific, late. Grand Duke, very large, good quality, 
productive, color of Bradshaw. — Soutliern Florist and Gardener. 

FOUR VERY CHOICE VARIETIES. 

Luther Burbank, of California, who began his work by originating the Bur- 
bank potato while living in his native state of Massachusetts, has made a last- 
ing mark in American horticulture as the originator of new fruits and flowers. 
Professor Van Deman has recently given an interesting sketch in the Bural New 
Yorker of Mr. Burbank and some of his remarkable achievements, from which 
the following in regard to late work with plums is reprodviced: 

Royal is the result of a cross made by using pollen of Simon upon one of 
the Botans. It is about the largest plum I have ever seen, except Kelsey. The 
shape is oval and quite regular. In color it is a deep, reddish purple, very rich 
looking and attractive. The flesh is yellow and firm until fully ripe, when it be- 
comes melting and juicy. It is almost a freestone. The flavor is a pleasant sub- 
acid, with a peculiar aroma that is deliciously refreshing. The quality is much 
better than that of any early plum I know, and is good compared with any kind. 
It ripens before Willard or Red June. 

Bartlett, another variety, is a cross of Simon upon Delaware. Its size is 
medium to large and the shape peculiar, being decidedly heart-shaped, with a 
distinct suture on one side. The color is a dull purplish red. The flesh is yel- 
lowish and soft when fully ripe. The stone is large and long. Its flavor is very 
peculiar, being like that of the Bartlett pear; hence the name. The quality is 
very good to best, which, with its earliness, productiveness, and vigor of tree, 
ought to place it well up in the scale. 

Chalco is a seedling of Burbank pollenized by Simon, and resembles the 
Simon in shape, which is flat, but is larger and very much better in quality. I 
would call it very good, and quite free from the peculiar bitterish flavor of the 



26 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

Simon plum. The main objection that will be raised to it is the resemblance to 
the shajje of that varity, which has become unpopular in market because of its 
flavor. The color is rich yellowish red. The texture of the flesh is about all one 
could desire. The stone is small in proportion to the flesh. 

Garnet is my choice of all the new plums which I have tested. It is a cross 
between Wickson and Satsuma. It is large, being over two inches in diameter, 
and nearly round in shape. The surface is smooth, dark wine — red or garnet — 
being very handsome. The flesh is garnet color, too, and rich looking. This 
color suggested the name Garnet. In flavor it is excellent, being tart enough, 
yet not sour, but a delicious subacid. No plum that I have eaten is better, and 
when cooked it could scarcely be equaled. It has all the high flavor of Satsuma 
when cooked, which has heretofore been far above all other plums when in that 
condition. The season of Garnet is at least a month earlier, as it is fully ripe by 
August 1. The tree is very fruitful. I look for this plum to take a high place 
in public favor. 

ANOTHER NEW ONE BY MR. BURBANK. 

Among Mr. Burbank's latest creations in plums the Climax bids fair to take 
a high rank. The fruit is described as strongly heart-shaped, very large — as 
large as an ordinary peach — cavity deep and abrupt, stem short and strong, 
suture plainly marked, but not deep, apex rounded; color deep dark red, many 
yellow dots, large and small; skin thick, firm; flesh yellow, firm; stone large, 
somewhat turgid, roughened, free; flavor sweet, rich, fruity; quality fine; sea- 
son earliest. Professor Waugh, of Vermont, says this is justly regarded by Mr. 
Burbank as one of his most valuable productions, and if upon extended test it 
proves hardy, fruitful, and otherwise reliable, it will be an advance in many re- 
spects upon any plum now known. 

THE BRADSHAW PLUM. 

A very large and fine early plum, dark violet red, juicy and good; valuable 
for market. The tree is erect, hardy, vigorous, and very productive. As re- 
gards productiveness, it is unequaled by any plum we have ever fruited. To 
produce the finest fruit, heavy thinning should be practiced. The quality 
is excellent, and it is destined to become one of the most popular of all 
plums for canning, while its attractive color, good quality and shipping quali- 
ties will cause it to be sought for as a market variety. It ripens ten days to 
two weeks later than Abundance. This plum resembles Niagara in size, color, 
and general good qualities. It is a grand variety and no collection is complete 
without it. It is becoming better known each year, and is a great favorite for 
home use on account of its fine quality and for market, for the reason that it is 
possessed of great beauty and large size and is enormously productive. 

ANOTHER man's IDEA ABOUT GOOD PLUMS. 

The Reine Claude is generally counted as a short-lived tree. Its tendency is 
towards heavy bearing, and, unless the fruit is thinned, the tree soon exhausts 
itself. With proper thinning and good culture, care, and feeding, the Reine 
Claude may be made to live and produce profitably for a generation. The great 
plum grower of western New York, S. D. Willard, had, a few years ago, some 
Reine Claude trees which had been set twenty-two years and borne seventeen full 
crops. They had failed only one year after coming into bearing. When I saw 
them they gave indication of still being profitable for several years. 

Among Japans, the Yellow Japan is superior in flavor, beauty, and quality. 
It is a late sort. 

The Bradshaw is a very profitable sort. It is large, productive, and of good 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 27 

color, and the tree is a vigorous, thrifty grower. The quality is not of the best, 
but it is a profitable market variety. Like all European sorts, it is liable to black 
knot badly. 

The Japanese plums, as a class, have proved their ability to resist the black 
knot. While here and there a few knots have been found, they are scarce and 
not serious enough to make any count of. Still, they disprove the claim that the 
Japs are black knot proof. However free they may be from this trouble, they 
have a decided susceptibility to the rot. They also set fruit so thickly that it 
touches (ill along the limbs. But careful thinning and spraying with Bordeaux 
mixture will check the rot. Another bad fault is the early blooming of many 
varieties. A late frost will often catch them and destroy the entire crop. — 
Greenes Fruit Grower. 

JAPAN PLUMS IN COLORADO. 

A correspondent of Green's Fruit Grower says: "I have many varieties of 
Japan plums growing and have found several that are of no use here, owing to 
lack of hardiness, both of tree and bud. Red June is all right and should be ex- 
tensively planted: also Willard and Ogon. These are perfectly hardy and will 
please all who give them a trial. Burbank is also quite promising. Hale and 
Wickson no earthly use in Colorado; trees won't stand even zero weather. Sat- 
suma badly killed this year, though they bore some fine fruit last year. I shall 
plant largely of Red June and Ogon." Commenting on the above, the editor 
says: "This report of Japan plums in Colorado will be interesting to people liv- 
ing in the far West, where the winters are far more severe and the changes of 
temperatvire more sudden than in the Eastern and Middle States. At Rochester, 
N. Y. , and wherever the thermometer does not go below ten or twelve degrees 
below zero, we have found all of the Japan plums named by Mr. Jewett perfectly 
hardy. We consider the Japan plums as a class, and such varieties in particular 
as Hale, Wickson, Burbank, Abundance, and Red June, very valuable varieties, 
and worthy of extensive trial." * 

THE HALE JAPAN PLUM. 

This is another one of the creations of Mr. Burbank, the California originator, 
who has made his name famous as an originator of superior fruits. This 
variety was purchased by Mr. Hale, a successful fruit-grower, known as the 
"Georgia peach king." Mr. Hale has great confidence in this variety of plum. He 
says the quality is superb. It ripens September 15: is of large size and possessed 
of great beauty. Mr. Hale has planted it largely for market and considers it a 
profitable market plum. Prof. L. H. Bailey has also tested this plum, and con- 
siders it of great value on account of its beauty, large size, and fine quality. He 
says it is delicious, slightly acid, and possessed of a peachy flavor. The color is 
yellowish red, very attractive. Professor Bailey thinks the quality the best of all 
Japan plums he has eaten. Luther Burbank places a high estimate on the Hale 
plum. He says no one who has ever tasted this variety when ripe will ever say 
any European plum is superior to the Hale. 

A correspondent in Greene county, Missouri, says the Hale variety "seems to 
be perfectly hardy everywhere, so far as we can learn. It is a tremendous 
grower, and grows later in the season than most of the other Jayjan plums. Like 
the Satsuma and Wickson it blooms rather early, and therefore is likely to be 
caught occasionally by late spring frosts. Yet it is of such high quality that it 
is worth testing everywhere where any of the Japan plums can be grown." 

SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHABOT. 

The Chabot plum, also known as the Bailey, Chase, and Yellow Japan, is, 
according to Prof. L. H. Bailey, deserving of much praise. The tree is a strong, 



28 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

upright grower, productive, and the fruit is handsome, very firm, and of good 
quality. In general appearance the fruit is much like Burbank, but it is more 
pointed and from one to three vpeeks later, and the tree, which is an upright 
grower, is very different. Last year it ripened at the Cornell (N. Y.) station from 
September 15 to 25. There seem to be two things passing as Chase, the other 
one being an earlier plum and perhaps identical with Douglas. Professor Bailey 
can detect no difference between Chabot, Bailey, Chase, and Yellow Japan, and 
the same also passes as Hattonkin; but Chabot, being the older name, must 
hold. 

THE NEW OCTOBER PURPLE. 

The October Purple is a splendid grower, ripens up its wood early to the tip, 
bears every season, and fruits all over the old wood on spurs, instead of away out 
on the branches, like many other kinds. Fruit very large and uniform in size. 
It is a superb variety. The fruit is described as measuring a trifle over seven 
inches in circumference, and shows long-keeping quality. The fruit is round in 
form; color a reddish purple — a little darker than the Bradshaw; flesh yellow, 
and in quality superb; stone small. The tree is a strong, erect grower, forming 
a nice, shapely head, something like Abundance in this respect, but more sym- 
metrical and shapely. Its season of ripening is about a month later than Abun- 
dance or Burbank, or from the middle to last of September. Its large, even size 
and beautiful color, late season in ripening, long-keeping and superb quality will 
make it a very desirable variety for the garden or for the market. — American 
Gardening. 

JAPANESE PLUMS IN NEW JERSEY. 

That the advent of the Japanese plum has caused renewed interest in plum 
culture throughout the country there is no doubt. For many years previous, 
home-grown plums were a rarity. What with curculio, rot, and black knot, it 
was more than the average farmer cared to undertake to produce fruit. Not that 
these enemies need frighten the one determined to win. New York fruit-growers 
have been growing plums successfully for years, before and since the introduc- 
tion of the Japanese sorts. But the average farmer who sets out a few trees for 
family use desires something that will take care of itself after being planted, which 
this plum will not do. 

Those who were the first to set out Japanese plums soon came to believe that 
they had found a kind to resist the curculio, and this belief still exists. A suc- 
cessful orchardist in Atlantic county, New Jersey, told me that, though it ap- 
peared to him that the fruit was stung, the egg, if deposited, did not develop. 
Some fruit dropped, from other causes apparently, but with this there was more 
on the tree to ripen than good-sized fruit called for. 

These Japanese sorts hereabouts have been bearing for two or three years. 
This year all growers report a very heavy crop. About four years ago, Edwin 
Lonsdale, of Chestnut Hill, set out a small orchard of Abundance and Burbank. 
It was my pleasure to see the trees full of ripe fruit toward the close of July, and 
they were a cheering sight. The trees were overloaded with fruit. Mr. Lonsdale 
had found, in previous seasons, a tendency to rot in the fruit when about to 
ripen, and had looked to this as a probable thinning. This, however, occurred 
to such a slight degree that it would have been better to thin them. Mr. Lons- 
dale thinks the rotting may have been prevented by the two sprayings which 
were given early in the season, which also kept off the curculio. While no doubt 
something is due to the spraying, there are other fruit-growers who have not 
sprayed who had fair crojjs of fruit. In conversation with a fruit-grower from 
near Lancaster, he informed me that orchards of Japanese plums there produced 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 29 

good crops this season without being sprayed, and similar cases nearer home 
have come to my notice. 

The Abundance and Burbank are often listed as "yellow, overspread with 
red," which, while strictly true, as seen here, is misleading, giving to inany the 
idea that they are getting a yellow plum, while, in fact, the color is red. If de- 
scribed as red on a yellow ground, it would be better. — J. M., in Practical 
Farmer. 

PLUMS HARDY IN NEW YORK. 

A correspondent of the Ihirnl JVeif Yorker wanted a list of the early to 
medium late plums that would stand the climatic changes in Jefferson county, 
New York, and the editor prints the following: "A list of plums that are very 
hardy is easy to arrange, but most such kinds are of the native species and ripen 
within a rather short time, which latter is an objection. Wolf, Rockford, Stod- 
dard, Forest Garden and Hawkeye are among the best of this class. Of the 
European type, Arctic, Lombard and German Prune are said to be the hardiest 
by those who have thoroughly tested them. It has been found that Burbank, 
which is one of the Japan type, is quite hardy and exceedingly productive." 

THE UNCLE BEN AND DAMSON PLUMS. 

The California Fruit Orowcr has (or did have) a sample of Uncle Ben 
plums, raised near Napa, Cal., and describes it as follows: 

"The Uncle Ben was about two and one-half inches around in two directions, 
each at right angles to the other; in color it was a deep yellow spotted with 
red; the flavor was exquisite; the ripest among the samples was a golden, bloom- 
surfaced bag which was filled, grape-like, with a sweet, delicious juice: the 
stone was small and easily freed from the surrounding nectar. It should prove a 
valuable plum around Thanksgiving time." 

The same authority, speaking of the Damson plum, says: "It is perhaps the 
hardiest and healthiest tree of the P. donestica family. It should prove a 
great aid when planted with self-sterile varieties that bloom with it. Used as a 
stock for double-working, it could scarcely be beaten. Moreover, the Damson as 
a source of profit is not to be despised." 

A LIST OF SUCCESSFUL PLUMS. 

H. E. VanDeman, in Orccn^s Fruit Oroiver, says: "Plum growing for 
profit is becoming far more common than formerly in the East and South, because 
of the introduction of the Japanese and American types. They are but little 
affected by the curculio, which is the bane of the plum growers east of the Rocky 
mountains, where the European type is a most eminent success. The two 
former classes are very popular in the markets because of the bright red color of 
nearly all of their varieties, and their hardiness and fruitfulness make them 
satisfactory to the growers." 

American. — Milton, Wooton, Whitaker, Rockford, Stoddard. 

Japanese. — Red June, Abundance, Burbank, Wickson, Hale. 

European. — Clyman, Bradshaw, German Prune, Grand Duke, Monarch. 

A < COMPARISON OF VARIETIES. 

A "press bulletin" from the Ohio Experiment Station contains the following 
list of plums most desirable in the state of Ohio, and says: 

"Those varieties which are denominated as American are natives of this coun- 
try, and, as a rule, are hardier than either European or Japanese varieties. The 
American sorts are subdivided into several classes, but no classification is at- 
tempted here. Because of reliability most of them may be safely planted, but 
they are less salable than the European varieties; hence, as an orchard venture. 



30 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

the planting of American sorts could be easily overdone. Successful orchard 
culture of plums must, in the future, depend very largely upon the selection of 
the best varieties for market. As a rvile these must be those bearing the largest 
and most showy fruit, and must be so selected as to cover as long a period of 
ripening as possible. All of those named, and many more, have been grown at 
the Ohio Experiment Station, but the conclusions drawn are not merely from 
the station tests, but from observations elsewhere as well." 

German Prune. — A reliable variety, especially valuable for market. Fruit 
medium to large; dark purple; of good quality; season medium to late. Rather 
a weak grower, and succeeds better if top-worked on some free-growing sort. 

Pond's Seedling. — Fruit large to very large, of medium quality; bright red; 
tree vigorous and prolific, but fruit inclined to rot. Not regarded as a very prof- 
itable market sort and not high enough in quality for dessert. Season late. 

Grand Duke. — A very fine, large late variety; dark blue in color, and very at- 
tractive in appearance. A slow grower and ought to be grafted on some other 
vigorous hardy variety. 

Bradshaw. — Tree a fine grower and prolific, but rather long in coming into 
bearing. Fruit large, purple, and of good quality. The earliest of the large sorts 
and one of the best for all purposes. 

Wolf. — One of the best American varieties, but inclined to overbear. The 
trees begin bearing early and need close pruning to thin the fruit. 

Spaulding. — A yellowish-green plum of excellent quality. Choice for home 
use, but ma}'^ not be sufficiently prolific for market. The claim of the introducer 
that it is curculio-proof is unfounded. 

Coe's Golden Drop. — A large, late-ripening, yellow variety. Tree a slow grower 
and should be top-worked on some free-growing sort. 

Tatge. — Said to be very hardy, but can hardly be distinguished from the Lorn 
bard. 

Weaver. — One of the best of the midseason American sorts. Rather dull in 
color but excellent for culinary purposes. 

American Eagle. — One of the best of the American sorts because of large size 
and good quality. 

Imperial Gage. — A greenish-yellow plum of the best quality. Especially de- 
sirable for the home garden. 

Richland. — A reliable midsummer variety, but too small for market purposes. 

Missouri Green Gage. — A greenish-yellow plum similar to Green Gage, but a 
little larger. Of the very choicest quality. Season medium to late. 

Reine Claude de Bavay, — Greenish-yellow, late in ripening; of the best qual- 
ity and very prolific. One of the best, either for home use or market. 

Archduke. — A large, dark purple, late-ripening sort, and very promising, but 
not fully tested. 

Reed. — A wonderfully prolific American sort. Fruit of medium size, bright 
scarlet, very beautiful, and with very much of the Damson flavor when cooked. 
Very ornamental in foliage, flower, and fruit. 

Prairie Flower. — A medium to large American sort, of good quality, with but 
little astringency. Does not drop as badly as some varieties of this class and ap- 
pears to be very promising. 

Hawkeye. — One of the largest and best of the American varieties, but with 
rather too much astringency next to skin and stone. 

Forest Rose Improved. — A little later and larger than Forest Rose, and more 
attractive in color as well. 

Chabot. — One of the best of the Japanese varieties. Medium to large, yellow, 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 31 

nearly covered with scarlet, and of good quality. Later, hardier and less inclined 
to rot than Burbank. 

Bailey. — Appears to be much like Chabot, but, as we have it, it seems to be 
much hardier. « 

Gold. — A prolific and early bearer; fruit a clear yellow, partly overspread with 
red; medium to large, but not of first-rate quality. 

Lincoln. — Fruit large to very large, coppery red, and of good quality. Valu- 
able for home use or market but slow in growth, and should be worked on some 
other variety. 

Red June. — One of the hardiest and best of the Japanese sorts. Especially 
valuable because of earliness. 

Abundance. — Tree upright in growth and prolific; fruit medium to large, and 
of excellent quality. Desirable. 

Burbank. — Tree a vigorous grower, very prolific, and begins bearing when 
very young. Fruit medium to large, showy, and of good quality, but much in- 
clined to rot. 

Gueii. — A reliable dark purple variety. Although much inclined to rot, it 
should be included in the list of profitable orchard sorts. 

Moore's Arctic. — Rather too small for market, but the fact that it is hardier 
than most other varieties of its class makes it valuable. 

VALUE OF JAPAN PLUMS. — HARDINESS COMPARED WITH PEACHES. 

Thri/ stand the cold. — I am growing Japan plums in orchards quite exten- 
sively in Connecticut and Georgia, and am convinced that many of the varieties 
have points of merit that will make them permanently valuable orchard fruits 
in these sections, but in the central Atlantic states, say from Philadelphia to 
South Carolina, they bloom so early that they are often liable to be caught by 
spring frosts. At the North they will stand a great deal more freezing than 
peaches. I think it is safe to plant them anywhere where the mercury does not 
go much below twenty-five degrees below zero. In my orchards in Connecticut, 
at this time, peach buds, even on the most hardy varieties, are all killed, and 
while the plum buds are somewhat hurt, there are more than enough left for 
abundant crops; probably very severe thinning will have to be resorted to to 
secure full-sized fruit. 

In the South. — In Georgia, the middle of February, after weeks of warm 
weather, many of the plums coming out in bloom and peach trees just showing 
the pink, peach buds entirely killed and trees badly injured, yet enough buds 
were left alive on some of the varieties of Japan plums so that there will be quite 
a little crop of fruit. For two or three years, varieties like Red June, Abundance 
and Burbank have been shipped to the Northern markets from Georgia, and sold 
on an average twenty-five per cent, higher than peaches, with an increasing de- 
mand each year for the fruit. In New England they have been marketed for 
the last three years to a considerable extent, having sold fifty per cent, higher 
than peaches in the same markets — the demand always ahead of the supply. 
They have thick, tough skins, and are not seriously injured by the curculio. 
Trees will thrive on very light, thin soil, or on that quite heavy and moist. The 
quality of the fruit is good, and they can be kept in the market from one to two 
weeks after being picked from the tree, in fair eating condition. 

The best sorts. — Red June, Abundance and Burbank are the most satisfac- 
tory of the well-tested varieties. Satsuma needs more maturity of tree before 
coming into full bearing; for, while the first three named will fruit freely two or 
three years after planting, Satsuma requires about five. Of the newer sorts 
Wickson is the largest and most attractive in appearance, while the Hale is best 



32 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

in quality of all the Japans; but these two varieties and the Satsuma are extra 
early bloomers, and on this account more liable to be caught by late frosts in 
spring than some of the others. Of other well-tested sorts, Willard and Berck- 
nians should be rejected as far too poor in quality to be worthy of propagation. 
Ogon and Normand, both yellow varieties, are vigorous and productive trees, but 
not very high in quality. Chabot, sometimes known as Yellow Japan, Chase, 
etc., is a late-ripening plum of fine appearance and good quality. The Gold is a 
small, weak-growing tree, with fruit somewhat like the Ogon, only not so good 
in quality. 

Many new varieties are being tested; probably some of them will prove of 
greater value than those we already have, and an orchardist will not go astray in 
planting the best ones here mentioned. Every one who owns a family fruit gar- 
den in the central Northern states makes a big mistake if he does not have a 
good number of these trees on his grounds, for the best of the Jajjan plums can 
be grown almost as cheaply and abundantly as the most common apples. — Rural 
New Yorker. 

SOME MISSOURI EXPERIENCES. 

We extract the following discussion over plum varieties from volume 42 (1899) 
of the Missouri Horticultural Report: 

"Mr. B. (Illinois): I lost 300 trees last winter. I want to know what to re- 
place with. 

"J. H. K.: My experience in Buchanan county [Missouri] is with the native 
plums. Eastern and Japan are not profitable. Wild Goose is always profitable. 
I have the Wolf, Miner, Marianna, Pottawatomie, Marion, and Newman. Wild 
Goose has paid best. Wolf is a freestone; it rots. Pottawatomie I cannot 
market at all ; too small. Arkansas Lombard is not very good. Blue Damson is 
one of the best of the Europeans. Wickson stood the winter ; has not fruited. 
My Blue Damsons are all on their own roots. 

"Professor Whitten: We have about 150 varieties of American, European and 
Japan plums at the Missouri Experiment Station. No European is worth growing 
in this state. The best plums for us are the American. I would name Forest 
Rose, Miner, Wild Goose, Wolf, and Wyant. The latter, fruited only one year, 
is large and of good quality. Wayland is a good late kind, splendid keeper. 
Golden Beauty is yellow, small, good keeper, World Beater makes good jelly 
and jam. Abundance and Burbank are the best Japs, for Missouri. They rot, 
but not so bad as the Europeans. 

"J. J. K.: I have twenty-five or thirty varieties of plums. I would name 
Forest Rose, Poole's Pride, Wild Goose, Pottawatomie, and Robinson, to make 
money. I sell Wild Goose for $2 per bushel. The Abundance is very fine; as 
good as the cherries in the old country. 

"Mr. B. (Illinois): I have 100 Burbank. They did not winter-kill. Abun- 
dance not so hardy. Shropshire Damson half killed. Other Europeans half 
killed. Wild Goose is the only native variety I grow. It gives a good crop 
almost every year. I have sprayed nine years for the curculio and rot: succeeded 
some years." 



K 



ees in bearing; the lower figures the plum trees not yet bearing. 




12,910 



bushes of wild or Sand plums indigenous to the soil. 



Map of Kansas showing the number of plum trees growing in eacli county in 1900. The upper figures are plum trees in bearing; the lower figures the plum trees not yet bearing. 




Total plum trees growing iu the state, (530, US in bearing and 289 109 not 



bearing, besides innumerable trees or bushes of wild or Sand plums indigenous to the soil. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 33 



THE POLLINATION OF PLUMS. 

By Prof. F. A. Waugh, Horticulturist at Agricultural College Experiment Station, 

Burlington, Vt. 

I. SUMMARY. 

Plums are very uncertain in setting fruit. A part of this uncer- 
tainty seems to be due to lack of proper cross-pollination. To secure 
cross-pollination, plums of ditferent varieties should be closely planted, 
or scions of ditferent varieties should be set into the tops of trees 
which do not bear satisfactory crops of fruit. 

Cross-pollination in plums is provided for by several natural adap- 
tations, especially by the defectiveness of flower parts and by the 
sterility of certain varieties toward their own pollen. 

American varieties of cultivated plums have arisen from several 
distinct botanical species. These varieties retain more or less the 
characters of the parent species, and thus may be judged to some 
extent by their parentage. It is thought that the botanical relation- 
ships of varieties will prove to be the best guide to their affinities in 
cross-pollination . 

The economic characters of these groups may be generalized as 
follows: European ( Py;/.;^W5 do)nest'(ca). — Hardy, best and most 
salable fruit ; perfect pistils, not good pollen bearers. Myrobalan. — 
Used as stock, but losing in favor, being supplemented by Marianna 
and American varieties. Jai^anese. — Comparatively new; relative 
value uncertain ; several varieties practically hardy. American group. 
— The Western wild idIuiii, very hardy, fruit good but inferior to 
European ; good stocks ; very delicate sexually, usually requires cross- 
pollination. Eastern forms (var. nigra) are even more hardy than 
western forms, range further north ; stronger pistils, weaker jjollen 
bearers. Wild Goose group. — About as hardy as Japanese plums, 
thought to need cross-pollination and to be weak pollen bearers. 
Marianna. — Probably a hybrid; sexually weak; uncertain bearer, chiefly 
used as stock. Chickasaw.- — Of southern origin ; many prolific and 
desirable varieties. 

Eminent horticulturists and liotanists agree in the general desira- 
bility of cross-pollination in plums. 

Although we have gained some knowledge as to the pollination of 
plums, there are yet many questions of practical importance and theo- 
retical interest open to investigation. It is hoped that this bulletin 
will call attention to some of these unanswered questions and direct the 
reader to futher observation and reflection. 
—3 



34 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

II. COMMON ORCHARD OBSERVATIONS. 

Among the inultitudinous uncertainties of fruit-growing, the pro- 
duction of a crop of jjlums presents the greatest combination of ob- 
scure and unmanageable factors. Even if a heavy crop of fruit is set, 
the curculio, the gouger, and the brown rot — all peculiarly hard of 
supijression — remain between it and the market. But there are many 
uncertainties in the setting of the crop. At times plum trees are so 
greatly overloaded with fruit that the branches may be broken to the 
ground. Other varieties, or the same varieties in different localities, 
or the same trees in different years, may show hardly any fruit. More- 
over this condition of varying fruitfulness is largely independent of 
the crop of blossoms which the trees may produce. Plums are notably 
prolific bloomers ; yet many trees are loaded with blossoms year after 
year without the smallest result in fruit. A crop of plum blossoms is 
no satisfactory indication of a crop of plums. 

These are matters of common remark. Observant orchardists have 
long ago learned to shun unproductive varieties and to destroy the more 
nearly sterile trees. More recently it has become customary to refer 
cases of total or partial sterility to lack of cross-pollination, and, pro- 
ceeding on this theory, mixed planting and the intergrafting of differ- 
ent varieties have been frequently advised and practiced. Cases 
which lend support to this theory will occur to every horticulturist. 
Mr. L. M. Macomber, of North Ferrisburgh, Vt., has a tree of natural- 
ized plum from Minnesota (the typical P. amerlcana), which blos- 
somed heavily each spring but did not bear a fruit for several years. 
Later a tree of Lawrence variety standing near it began to blossom. 
The first year after the blossoming of the Lawrence, and each succed- 
ing year, the Minnesota plum bore heavy loads of fruit. Similar 
cases could be cited indefinitely. 

III. CROSS-POLLINATION AND FRUITFULNESS. 

The influence which cross-pollination is assumed to have in the in- 
creased number of plums set in certain cases is analogous to that 
which has been shown to exist with many other plants. Cross-ijol- 
lination (or cross-fertilization) is associated in the popular mind with 
the production of wonderful new varieties of fruits, flowers, and vege- 
tables — with hybrids and colored plates and fruit-tree agents. But 
in the light of more thoughtful study it seems doubtful whether this 
is the chief role which nature intended for cross-pollination, or 
whether, indeed, it is a natural role at all. It seems rather that cross- 
pollination has its best usefulness in its immediate effects in provok- 
ing certain flowers to bear fruit which otherwise would have been 
abortive, or in stimulating certain fruits to a more perfect develop- 
ment than they would attain through self-fecundation. Waite has 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 35 

recently sliown the importance of cross-pollination with certain varie- 
ties of pears ; and the same author says : "Apples are more inclined 
to be sterile to their own pollen than pears. With the former, in the 
great majority of cases, no fruit resulted from self-pollination." Beach 
has shown that several varieties of grapes are more or less self-sterile, 
and Green has added some useful notes in the same line. Bailey as- 
serts that our native plums "do not fertilize themselves"; and the ex- 
periments of Heideman with varieties of P. aniericana indicate not 
only frequent self-sterility but also a remarkably capricious selective 
affinity among certain varieties. It is in the A-B-C of strawberry 
culture that certain varieties normally bear pistillate blossoms which 
require iDollination from other varieties, and that certain other sorts 
are particularly useful for the quantity and prepotency of their pollen. 
It seems possible, or even probable, that when we have gone a little 
deeper into the question of the pollination of apples, pears, and plums, 
we will designate their sexual capabilities and affinities as positively 
as we do now those of the strawberry. It is evident that when our 
knowledge of these fruits gains that degree of exactness we will have 
made a great advance in pomology. In the meantime we may regard 
it as the soundest practice to plant plum trees thickly together and to 
to see that the varieties are well mixed. 

IV. CROSS-POLLINATION IN PLUMS. 

Cross-pollination is advantageous to many varieties of plums and 
necessary to at least a few. This preference for foreign pollen is not 
confined to the blossoms of cultivated varieties, but shows itself quite 
unmistakably in many wild plums. The aboriginal forms of P. 
americana seem to be especially delicate in their capabilities of 
fecundation. To meet this need plums do not naturally depend alone 
on the chance transfer of pollen by insects or wind, but cross-pollina- 
tion is provided for and self-pollination is provided against by various; 
interesting modifications of the typical flower. 

The form of the flower may be changed. There are possible six 
distinct variations. In two of these the pollen and stigma mature at 
different times ; in two forms the pistils are either much shorter or 
much longer than the stamens ; and in two the flowers are sexually 
imperfect, one or the other of the essential organs being defective. 

Any one of these arrangements in a blossom usually renders it in- 
capable of self-fecundation. It is probable that each of these six 
forms occasionally appears in plum blossoms, particularly in varieties 
of the americana group, but aside from the one bearing imperfect 
pistils, I am inclined to believe that these diversities have little im- 
mediate significance. They may be of some slight interest to theo- 
retical biology in throwing some light on questions of evolution, but 



36 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

they are so infrequent as to have no perceptible influence on the 
fruit crops. The several special modifications would need to be much 
more uniform in their occurrence than I have found them before they 
could be considered a safe guide to the affinities of varieties for cross- 
pollination, as suggested by Mr. Heideman. The efficacy of these va- 
rious forms in securing cross-pollination is yet awaiting demonstration. 

Without reference to adaptations for cross-pollination, it is to be 
remarked that the species P. amer'icana is exceedingly variable in all 
its characters, especially in its flower parts. Mr. Heideman mentions 
a tree in his orchard which uniformly bore flowers with twin ovaries, 
or even with three united ovaries in a single blossom ; and a case of the 
same sort has come under my own observation in a scion of a Min- 
nesota seedling in the orchard of Mr. L. M. Macomber. 

The defectiveness of pistils in many blossoms, however, seems to 
me to be a more serious matter. It is of much more frequent occur- 
rence, and appears to represent, in a majority of cases, a diseased or 
atrophied condition of the pistil, rather than a healthy modification 
of form. Professor Goff, who has given this question diligent study, 
is inclined to attribute many cases of defective pistils to inclemencies 
of climate, and an examination of the abortive organ itself would give 
that idea rather than the notion of a definite evolutionary modifica- 
tion. However, the theory of damage from cold weather is not sup- 
ported by the notes which we have collected, as will appear later. 

With a view to gaining some light on these questions, a large 
number of plum blossoms have been examined this spring. While 
the number of blossoms examined from any single sample was too 
small to warrant any dogmatic judgment of the variety represented, 
the total number of blossoms examined (about 2000), and the care- 
ful manner in which the work was done, under the microscope in 
the laboratory, will justify us in making some generalizations from 
the whole. The record of these laboratory examinations will be sub- 
seqently published in an annual report. 

The term "defective pistils" in this bulletin includes all imper- 
fections which evidently would make fecundation impossible. In 
very many cases no trace of style or ovary was found. In many 
other blossoms a small, rudimentary pistil was present, which had 
plainly ceased to have any vital significance. These several defects 
seem, for the most part, to be only degrees of the same weakness, 
whether that weakness be sexual invalidity, evolutionary adaptation, 
the result of severe weather, or something else. In the aggregate the 
defective pistils are numerous enough to be taken into serious con- 
sideration. 

In the laboratory examinations several samples showed 100 per 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS, 



37 



cent, defective pistils. Obviously no crop can be expected from trees 
which these samples fairly represent. Cases in which trees fail to set 
fruit after being loaded with blossoms will be remembered by every 
horticulturist. Doubtless many such instances of sterility occur 
through lack of pistils. The Marianna is notably a shy bearer. Its 
record, as shown in table 1, seems to show a reason. Its evident sex- 
ual weakness may also be some confirmation of its hybrid origin. 

The differences in the average percentages of defective pistils in 
the several groups cannot be regarded as purely accidental. The 
comparison may best be seen in table 1. 

Tabic 1. — Compftrifion of Groups. 



Group. 


Samples. 


Total 
blossoms. 


Per cent, 
defective. 


Pru II iix a iiici'iccinG varieties 


60 

7 

6 

7,3 

17 

18 

4 

30 

9 


550 

85 

53 

688 

159 

171 

46 

292 

72 


27.8 


" " type, wild 


40.0 


" " var. // if/ I'd 


5.7 


" " consolidated 

Prunus chicctfid 


27.6 
15.1 


Prunu>< hortulunG varieties .... 


24.6 


Marianna 


50.0 


Pruiuis doiiimtica varieties 


5.1 


PriiiiiiK t ri fioi'd varieties . 


15 9 







From this it appears that about one-half of the pistils of the Mari- 
anna were defective, over one-fourth in P. americftna (the common 
wild X)lum), only a little less in P. hortulana (the Wild Goose group), 
about one-sixth in the Chickasaws and Japanese plums, and only one- 
twentieth in the European varieties {P. do77iestica) . The great dis- 
crepancy between the wild forms of the typical P. americana (mostly 
Western) and the variety nigra (mostly Eastern) is a point of con- 
siderable interest. Besides furnishing another character in justifica- 
cation of a division between the two forms, it gives a valuable hint to 
those who are looking for new garden varieties. It is worth remark- 
ing, however, in this connection that the variety nigra does not bear 
so much pollen as the tyjae forms. 

Some of the individual records in the laboratory examinations 
are open to more or less explanation. For example, Mr. Munson 
writes concerning a Wild Goose seedling {P. hortulana) which 
showed 87.5 per cent, defective pistils : "It is only two years old from 
seed, and is flowering for the first time. It is my experience that 
almost invariably varieties, when they begin to bloom, set little or no 
fruit. As they get age, some become very fruitful, while others always 
fruit scatteringly. The youth of this tree, I think, fully accounts for 
the defectiveness of the female parts.'' It seems impossible, however, 
with present data, to find any constant connection between defective- 



38 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 



ness of pistils and conditions of soil, cultivation, or climate. It should 
be noted that the same tree varies from year to year. The pistils may 
be all defective one year, and all sound the next. 

Different varieties vary greatly in the amount of pollen j)roduced. 
This variation seems also to follow somewhat the specific parentage 
of the varieties. Thus, plums of the americana group are generally 
more abundant jDollen bearers. The Chickasaw plums are rather 
weaker pollen bearers, though they seldom show serious deficiency. 
The Japanese plums are still weaker, while the Marianna is distinctly 
lacking in the quantity and perhaps also in the quality of pollen pro- 
duced. A comparison of the several groups as pollen bearers is made 
in table 2. 

Table 2. — Comparison of Orouj)s 

In the matter of pollen bearing. Figures indicate the number of samples under each rating. 



Geodp. 



Prumis americana (consolidated 

Prunus chicafia varieties 

Pnoms: horfulana varieties 

Marianna 

Pninus domestiea varieties , 

Prunus tri flora varieties 



Scant. 


Medium. 


Abundant. 


7 


23 


20 


5 


6 


3 


2 


11 


3 


.3 








6 


7 


7 


4 


4 






Very 
abundant. 



10 

2 






In connection with any estimates on the point of comparative polli- 
nating efficiency several things have to be taken into account. In 
the first place, any estimate of the quantity of pollen borne must nec- 
essarily be very rough. In the second place, there may be a differ- 
ence in the quality of the pollen. I have examined some samples in 
which many imperfect grains could be noted with a low-power lens. 
In other samples apparently well-formed grains would fail to respond 
to micro-chemical tests for protoplasm ( Millon's reagent), leaving a 
strong presumption against their ability of fecundating the ovules. 
But above all this, the pistils of many varieties appear to have a pro- 
nounced selective ability, whereby they refuse certain pollen while 
receiving readily pollen from some other source. Our knowledge is 
very imperfect on all these points, but we know enough to make us 
very cautious how we dogmatize about this question. Much more 
careful field experimentation is needed along these lines. 

In order to gain some evidence on the point raised by Professor 
GoflP and others, that the severe northern climates are accountable for 
much of the defectiveness of plum pistils, table 3 has been pre- 
pared. 

The different locations are arranged in the table, as far as practica- 
ble, in the order of their geographical latitude. The testimony of 
the table is not very emphatic, it is true, but it does not sustain the 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 



39 



conjecture. Aside from a uniformly high percentage of defective 
pistils at Madison, Wis. — Professor Goff's own location — the per- 
centage rather decreases than increases northward. 
Table 3. — CoTniparison of Localities. 

Percentage of defective pistils. 





Prunus americana. 


Primus 
chicaxa. 


K 

Q 
o 
o 

CD 




3! 

s 


Locality and date 

OF FliOWEElNG. 




o 






<< 






g; 
5' 

o 
a 






3 
35 


Denison, Tex., March 24 






75 










25 
10 




Stillwater, Okla., March 31 


50 

40 

56 
0* 
0* 















Manhattan, Kan., April 13 












20 






St. Louis, Mo., April 14 and 21 

Morgantown, W. Va., April 22 

Pennsylvania State College, April 25. . 
Amherst, Mass. , May 4 







































io' 









30 
22 











67 


Michigan Agricultural College, May 1. . 
Geneva, N. Y., April 30 












Madison, Wis. , May 2 


90 




60 

28 


56 

37 

10 




29 





9 


100 


Minnesota City, Minn., May 1 


14 
16 







Burlington, Vt., Mav 8 


0* 





50 







Orono, Maine, May 19 






17 


Ottawa, Canada, Mav 10 





10 




10 












' ' 


' 



* Var. nigra. 

The first, and perhaps the chief, practical question to be settled is : 
What varieties, under ordinary circumstances, are fertile with their 
own pollen, and which are self- sterile ? A large number of blossoms 
in the orchards of Mr. L. M. Macomber, North Ferrisburg, Vt., were 
covered with paper sacks, in order to protect them from cross-pollina- 
tion. The results from these are shown in table 4. 



Table 4. — Record of Protected Blossoms. 




Variety. 


Approximate 

number of 

covered 

blossoms. 


Fruits 

set. 


Crop set on 

remainder 

of tree. 


De Soto 


25 

75 
100 
100 
250 

80 
200 

60 
200 
200 

75 
300 
125 
100 





10 
6* 
4* 

8 

9 

5* 


6* 
4* 


Moderate. 


De Soto, Wrong 




Original Minnesota 


(( 


Minnesota 


u 


Minnesota Seedling No. 2 


Full. 


" " No. 3 




Pottawatomie.. 


Light. 


Robinson 

RoUingstone 


Moderate. 
Full. 


Wolf 


Moderate. 


Wolf SeedUng No. 5 


Full. 


" " No. 6 




" No. 7 

" <' No. 2 


Moderate. 
Full. 







* Weak. 



40 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 



The range of varieties in this series of experiments is barely large 
enough to be suggestive, although the large number of blossoms cov- 
ered and the relatively small number of fruits set give a satistactorily 
clear-cut indication of a generally prevalent self-sterility. It seems 
clear that one could exj^ect little fruit from De Soto, the Original 
Minnesota, Pottawatomie, Rollingstone, and the Wolf Seedling No. G, 
unless the trees were favorably situated for cross-pollination. In fact, 
Robinson was the only variety in the experiment with which the fruit 
set by self-pollination seemed to be normal and vigorous. Our judg- 
ments, made in the orchard — and such judgments may properly go 
beyond the numbers in the tabulations — were that self-sterility was 
extremely doubtful in all cases except that of Robinson. 

The question which naturally comes next in order is this : If a cer- 
tain variety must have foreign pollen in order to set fruit, what other 
varieties are the most efficacious pollen bearers ? This is a question 
requiring very many experiments in artificial pollination. Our own 
work for 1896 has been limited to twenty-one experiments among 
eleven varieties, and consisted of 319 artificial crosses. The record of 
these pollinations is seen in table 5. 

Table 5.— Record of Crosses. 



Female paeent. 


Male parent. 


Num- 
ber 
polli- 
nated. 


Num- 
ber 
set. 


Species. 


Variety. 


Species. 


Variety. 


1 P. anier/cctnQ, 


Minnesota .... 




Cherry ....... 

ii/(/r(t 

K 

11 
It 

Minnesota .... 
Rollingstone. . 

Wolf 

. 11 


13 
35 
9 
22 
26 
20 
12 
16 
22 
14 
12 
14 
14 
27 
6 
9 

10 

8 

5 

9 

16 





2 
3 

5 
6 
7 

8 P. fit i <■((><(( .... 
9 
10 


n 
il 
n 
(( 
(( 
(1 

Robinson 

u 
u 

De Soto .'.'.'.'.'. 

u 

(( 

Robinson 

Wolf 


P.a)nen'c^iif(, 

P. domestiea, 
P.ainrric^na, 
P. domestiea, 

P.americ^na, 

11 


16 

* 

*. . . 

19 

2 

9 

6 

*. . . 

"i 

t... 


12 
13 
14 
15 

16 P. chica>i(( 

17 P. (()iierif(iti((, 


Marianna 

Rollingstone. . 
11 

)ii(/ra 

McNiei 

Wolf Seedl'g. . 

McNiei 

Hawkeye 

Wyant 


t... 
t... 
t..- 
t... 





18 

19 

20 " 

21 


De Soto 

Wolf Seedl'g". '. 
De Soto 


"i 

* 

"g 



* No record. t Tree died. 



Beyond an indication that the typical Western forms of F. ameri- 
cana can be pollinated by the Eastern forms (var. nigra), these ex- 
periments show nothing. No one who has had experience in hand 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 41 

l)ollinations will be surprised at the irregularity of results, nor at the 
comparatively small number of fruits set. 

V. BOTANICAL RELATIONSHIPS OF CULTIVATED PLUMS. 

Within the past few years it has become customary among nurs- 
erymen and fruit-growers to refer all cultivated plums to the botanical 
species from which they are severally supposed to have sprung. This 
method has many obvious advantages. The cultivated varieties of 
each group have many imjjortant characters in common, so that the 
fruit-grower soon finds himself able to form a very good and useful 
estimate of any new variety as soon as he knows its botanic origin. 
However, with the raj^id introduction of new American varieties, the 
botany of cultivated plums has become much more complicated. 
Botanists have found it necessary to make new species of recently 
discovered forms, and as varieties of these forms have been introduced 
to cultivation horticulturists have had to keep pace with botanical 
study in order to maintain an acquaintance with the fruits in their 
gardens. In the foregoing tables the different varieties are referred 
to their botanical parentage as accurately as could be done at this 
time. For the most part the dispositions made of the several varieties 
are those generally accepted. A few are questionable, but it was 
thought better, in cases of doubt, still to place the doubtful variety 
in the group to which it seems to belong, rather than to throw such 
varieties into a mixture by themselves. 

When Mr. Andrew J. Downing wrote his "Fruit and Fruit Trees 
of North America," he recognized only three species of plums as con- 
cerned in the parentage of our cultivated varieties, namely : P. domes- 
tica, the European plum ; P. amer'tcana, the American red or yellow 
plum ; and P. ehicasa, the Chickasaw plum. Since then the classifi- 
cation has been so much complicated, -both botanically and horticul- 
turally, that it requires some critical attention to understand the 
subject. It is thought the more wise to take up here the botanical 
classification of plums, because the limits of cross-pollination and the 
lines of affinity among varieties may well be supposed to follow very 
closely the true botanical boundaries of the parent species. The 
natural relationships of the various groups are shown in the following : 

Conspectus of Cultivated and Native Plums. 
Family Rosace.e; genus Prunus. 
FOREIGN SPECIES. 

P. domrstica L. Common European Plum. Probably originally from Asia. 
Flowers showy, white, more or less fascicled; leaves large, ovate or obovate, usu- 
ally firm and thick in texture, very rugose, usually pubescent beneath, coarsely 
serrate; shoots usually downy; fruit very various, of many shapes and flavors, 
but mostly globular-pointed or oblong; the stone large and slightly roughened or 
pitted. 



42 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

P. crrasifera Ehrh. Myrobalan or Cherry Plum. Differs from the last 
in a more slender habit, often thorny ; flowers mostly smaller ; leaves smaller, 
thin, smooth, and finely and closely serrate; fruit globular and cherry-like, rang- 
ing from the size of a large cherry to over an inch in diameter, with a depression 
about the stem, in various shades of red or yellow. 

P. Iri flora Roxb. Japanese Plum. A strong growing tree, perhaps native 
to China, numerous varieties of which have recently been disseminated in the 
United States. Flowers usually densely fascicled; leaves and shoots smooth 
and hard, the former obovate or oblong-obovate, prominently pointed, and finely 
and evenly serrate; fruit usually conspicuously pointed, red, yellow, or purple, 
with a very firm flesh and commonly a small stone. 

native species, (trees.) 

p. <()ii<ricf(tH( Marsh. Common Wild Plum. The type distinguished by 
entire calyx lobes, which are pubescent on the inner surface; stone turgid; 
leaves oval or slightly obovate; petioles mostly without glands. Tree spreading, 
ragged, thorny, 8-20 feet high; flowers large, white, on slender pedicels; leaves 
very coarsely veined, never glossy or shining; fruit more or less flattened upon 
the sides, firm and meaty, the skin tough and glaucous and never glossy, ripen- 
ing through yellow to red. Occurs wild from New Jersey and New York to 
Montana and Colorado. It varies southward, in Texas and New Mexico repre- 
sented mostly by the variety rii<>nix. 

Var. mollis Torr. & Gray. Has the leaves and pedicels pubescent, espe- 
cially when young. 

Var. nigra. Canada Plum; Red Plum. [P. nigra Ait.; P. anu ricaua T. 
& G. and 6th ed. Gray's Manual.] In its extreme forms easily distinguished 
by the glandular- serrate calyx lobes, glabrous on the inner surface; compressed 
stone ; broadly oblong-ovate to obovate leaves, with petioles bearing two glands. 
Flowers large, white, with short, thick peduncles conspicuously marked by the 
scars left by the falling of the bud scales; pedicels dark red, slender, glabrous; 
calyx tube broadly obconic, dark red on the outer and bright red on the inner 
surface; fruit oblong-oval, orange-red; stone nearly oval, compressed. Occurs 
wild from Newfoundland west to Rainy and Assiniboin rivers, in Canada, and 
commonly in the New England states, where it is found along roadsides and in 
waste places. 

P. hortulcDKt Bailey. Wild GGose Plum. A strong, wide-spreading, small 
tree, with smooth, straight twigs, and a peach-like habit; flowers rather small, 
often very short-stalked; leaves narrow ovate or ovate-lanceolate, thin and firm, 
flat, more or less peach- like, smooth and usually shining, closely and obtusely 
glandular-serrate; fruit spherical, bright colored and glossy, lemon yellow or 
brilliant red, the bloom very thin, juicy, with a clinging, turgid and roughish, 
small, pointed stone. Occurs wild in the Mississippi valley in the neighborhood 
of St. Louis. 

Var. mineri Bailey. Differing more or less from the species by the dull and 
comparatively thick leaves, which are conspicuously veiny below and irregularly 
closely toothed and more or less obovate in outline, and by a smoother and more 
americana-\\^e stone. 

Hyb. marianna. This plum is thought to be a hybrid between the Myroba- 
lan and the Wild Goose. (L. H. Bailey, Cornell Exp. Sta. Bull. 38, p. 32.) Per- 
haps one or two other varieties have a similar origin. 

P. chicasa Michx. [Properly P. angustifoUa Marsh.] Chickasaw Plum. 
Slender tree, 12-20 feet high; slender, zigzagged twigs; smaller, lanceolate or 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. , 43 

oblong- lanceolate leaves, which are very closely and finely serrate, shining, and 
trough-like; fruit small, very early, red or rarely yellow, the skin thin and shin- 
ing and covered with many small, light dots and a very thin bloom ; the flesh soft 
and juicy, often stringy, closely clinging to the small, broad, roughish stone. 
Wild from Delaware south and west to east Kansas and Texas. 

F. alleghaniensis Porter. Sloe. A small, slender tree or shrub 3-15 feet 
high; leaves lanceolate or oblong-ovate, often long acuminate, finely and sharply 
serrate, softly pubescent when young: fruit dark purple, with a bloom. Alle- 
ghany mountains, in Pennsylvania. 

P. subcordata Benth. A small tree 20-25 feet high; leaves broadly ovate or 
orbicular, usually cordate, sharply and often doubly serrate, slightly coriaceous, 
dark green on the upper and pale on the lower surface ; flowers in 2-i-flowered 
umbels on slender pedicels; calyx lobes oblong-obovate, rounded at the apex, half 
as long as the white petals; fruit oblong, dark red or purple or sometimes yellow. 
Pacific coast species. 

F.umhellata'EW. Black Sloe; Hog Plum. A small, bushy tree; flowers 
on slender pedicels nearly an inch long, rather large, white ; leaves smallish, ovate 
or slightly obovate, or sometimes short oblong, thin and dull, closely and evenly 
serrate; fruit about three-fourths inch in diameter, yellow or reddish, flesh 
firm and austere; stone short and turgid, cherry-like. Seashore from South 
Carolina to Florida, and westward to Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. 

NATIVE SPECIES. (SHRUBS.) 

P. wa^soni Sargent. Sand Plum. A shrub 6-10 feet high: leaves ovate, 
acute, rounded or wedge-shaped at the base, finely crenulate, serrate, lustrous 
on the upper and pale on the lower surface; petioles slender, grooved, biglandular 
at the apex; flowers in crowded, few-flowered fascicles; calyx cup-shaped, the 
lobes acute, rounded at the apex, without glands, ciliate on the margins, pubes- 
cent on the inner face; petals inserted remotely on the glandular disk, narrowly 
obovate, rounded and more or less erose above, contracted below into short claws, 
pure white: fruit globose or rarely oblong, orange-red. Sandy streams and hills, 
south and southeast Nebraska and central and western Kansas. 

P. gracilis 'EngeXvu. & Gray. A small shrub, 1-4 feet high; soft pubescent 
leaves, oblong-lanceolate to ovate, acute, sharply serrate, becoming nearly gla- 
brous above, 1-2 inches long; pedicels and calyx pubescent; fruit less than one- 
half inch in diameter; stone rather turgid, suborbicular. Prairies and sandy 
places, south Kansas to Texas and Tennessee. 

P. maritima Wang. Beach Plum. Low straggling shrub, 1-5 feet high; 
leaves ovate or oval, finely serrate, softly pubescent underneath ; pedicels short, 
pubescent; fruit globular, purple or crimson, with a bloom, one-half inch in dia- 
meter; stone very turgid, acute on one edge. Sea beaches. New Brunswick to 
Virginia. Some distance from the coast has leaves smoother and thinner, and 
fruit smaller. 

Remarks vpon Botanical Orou2ys. 

European [domrsdoa] Group. The cultivated varieties of the European 
plum bear the best and most salable fruit. They are generally hardy in most sec- 
tions of Vermont, though most of the 1896 crop was killed by the severe winter 
weather. The pistils in varieties of this species are uniformly larger and stronger 
than in other species, and are practically never defective. These varieties are 
usually deficient pollen bearers, but their need of cross-pollination has not yet 
been clearly shown, nor their best pollenizers pointed out. Pistils and anthers 



44 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

appear to mature at the same time, and heterostyled or bisexual forms are seldom 
or never found. 

Myrocalan. This plum has been extensively used as a stock, but has been 
rapidly losing favor, the Marianua or seedlings of P. amcrlcana being generally 
substituted. 

Japanese Plums have not yet been long enough known [1896] in the United 
States to have found their final position in our estimation. They are an impor- 
tant and desirable acquisition. Several varieties have been planted in Vermont, 
and, for the most part, are sufficiently hardy to justify their planting. Abun- 
dance usually fruits here, bearing heavy crops. All blossoms of Japanese varie- 
ties, however, were killed by cold weather during the winter of 1895-'96. They 
seem to be considerably weaker in their pistils than varieties of the domestica 
group, but this does not interfere with their fruitfulness. 

Americana Group. The plums of the atnericana group resist cold much 
better than any others. They are the hardiest we have. Americana varieties 
now hang loaded with fruit beside the Japanese, donefffi.ca and Chickasaw va- 
rieties, which are entirely bare. They are to be especially recommended for 
planting in cold and exposed localities, where the ddmesfica varieties are uncer- 
tain. In general the fruit is inferior to that of the domesiica varieties, although 
many of the best sorts are very acceptable on the table and quite salable in the 
market. A ynericnna seedlings seem to make good stocks for working varieties of 
the doDiesf/ca and other groups. Wild and cultivated forms of this group are 
peculiarly delicate in sexual organization, to an extent which sometimes inter- 
feres materially with the crop. Most varieties probably require cross- pollination. 
The blossoms themselves make provision for this by numerous contrivances, the 
most efficient of which are proterogyny, the suppression of pistils, and the select- 
ive power of the pistils in receiving pollen. 

The variety moUis of P. (ouf ricaita is represented in cultivation by several 
horticultural forms: although the origin of the horticultural forms from the bo- 
tanical variety does not seem to be necessary, but rather doubtful in some cases. 
The leaves and pedicels, especially in cultivated varieties, are found to be pubescent 
in all degrees, and it is quite possible for a distinctive degree of pubescence to 
appear as a garden character, although the variety might be genetically referable 
to the smooth type. Several varieties not usually put in this section of the omeri- 
cana group are quite pubescent eiiough to be so classified. The southern distri. 
bution of this botanical variety might raise a question as to whether or not it is 
as hardy as the type when planted northward. 

The variety nigra of P. americana is here proposed in place of Alton's P. 
)ii(jra, and in order to satisfy the necessities of horticultural and botanical in- 
tercourse. Gray's Manual of Botany combines all these diverse forms under one 
name. Professor Bailey's recent revision of "Field, Forest and Garden Botany'' 
does the same, and in his paper on "The Cultivated Native Plums and Cher- 
ries" Professor Bailey says, speaking of the characters used to distinguish P. 
nigra from P. ainrricana : " I am unable to find any constancy in these charac- 
ters. . . . I am obliged, therefore, . . . tovmite P. nigra withP. ((meri- 
cana. This I regret the more because it is undoubtedly true that there are two 
well-marked wild varieties — possibly species — passing as P. americana.'''' It 
is evident that we must have some way of conveniently designating such an im- 
portant difference, and the application of the name P. americana, var. nigra, 
seems to me to dispose of the case in best accord with the natural relationships 
on the one hand and with our acquired habits of nomenclature on the other. 



THK PLUM IN KANSAS. 45 

The variety nir/rct is even more hardy than the species, ranging much further 
northward; its pistils are much stronger and more regular in their development; 
it bears pollen somewhat less abundantly, and whereas the species has a tendency 
to be proterogynous. Professor Sargent characterizes the variety (which he calls 
P. riif/ra) as proteranderous. This point was not satisfactorily verified in our 
own examinations this spring. This is the common wild plum of Vermont and 
neighboring states. 

Wild Goose Group. The plums of the Wild Goose group do not seem to 
have been generally tried in Vermont. They are usually quite as hardy as the 
Japanese varieties, and are well worth a trial. ' The Wild Goose and its most 
closely related varieties are commonly said to need cross-pollination, and to be 
themselves weak pollen bearers. Weaver and other americana varieties have 
usually been recommended as pollenizers, but it would be worth while to de- 
termine whether or not certain other varieties of 7^ hortulana which bear 
abundant pollen are not better for this purpose. 

Marianna Plum. Sexually weak to a marked degree, it is always regarded 
as an uncertain bearer, and large crops from it are quite exceptional. Its affini- 
ties in pollination are extremely problematical. At the present time it is most 
useful as a stock. It grows readily and vigorously from cuttings set in the open 
ground; it buds or grafts easily ; the unions form readily, and are apparently 
lasting. To a great extent it has superseded the Myrobalan as a stock. Although 
of Texas origin, it seems to be perfectly hardy in this state. 

Chickasaw. The name P. chicasa is retained in place of P. avgustifolia, 
which is technically the correct one for the Chickasaw plum, on account of its 
familiarity to horticulturists and botanists, and because it is used in Gray's 
Manual and in "Field, Forest and Garden Botany." These plums form an 
attractive group, some of the varieties being very prolific and excellent for the 
table. Although some varieties are sufliciently hardy to m.ike them desirable in 
Vermont plantings, they are, as a group, better adapted to warmer localities. 
They do not show, so far as our own study has gone, any special adaptations for 
cross-pollination. 

The P. allcghanloiaiii has not been introduced to cultivation, and is quite 
restricted in its range. P. Nubcordnfrt is not known east of the Cascade moun- 
tains. "In Oregon and northern California the fruit is collected and consumed 
in large quantities, both fresh and dried, and is used for preserves and jellies." 
It is also used as a stock for European plums. P. umhcHcifa, locally known as 
the Hog plum, is known only wild. "The fruit is gathered in large quantities, 
and is used in making jellies and jams." 

The Dwarf Sand Plum, until recently, has been put into the Chickasaw group, 
which it most nearly resembles. It is, however, quite distinct; and in 1894 Pro- 
fessor Sargent set these peculiar forms off from P. c/n'casfi with the name J*. 
uKitHoni. The points of distinction are given in the description, on a preceding 
page. The wild bushes of this species bear abundant crops of superior fruit. 
The plums are eagerly gathered and used in preserves or jellies. Some few va- 
rieties have been propagated and introduced, as the Bluemont, by Prof. E. Gale, 
of Manhattan, Kan., but they have thus far received only local notice. This 
species, as it grows wild along the Republican and Arkansas rivers in Kansas, is 
attractive in so many particulars that it would seem very strange did it not eventu- 
ally achieve some horticultural distinction. Some experiments have been made 
with these plums as dwarf stocks, but no definite results have been reported. 
P. gracilis bears fruit rather sparsely, and of small size and comparatively in- 



46 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

ferior quality. However, it is sometimes gathered, as I have known it to be in 
Oklahoma, and made up into jellies. 

The Beach Plum, P. inarit'nna, is cultivated both as an ornamental plant 
and for its fruit. In the former capacity it is quite desirable: in the latter it is 
of little importance. 

Three other Species of plums, namely, P. riviila /•/■•< Seheele, P. glandu- 
losd Torr. & Gray, and P. miuuti flora Engelm., are listed by Coulter as appear- 
ing wild in the United States; but although the fruit of the first is said to be 
excellent they are practically unknown to us. 

With this wonderful array of native jjUims before us, many of 
which, though bearing excellent fruit in nature, have never been tried 
in cultivation, we may well believe that we have seen hardly the be- 
ginning of the cultivated plums in America. 



POLLINATION. 

By George Cotte, Horticulturist at the Oregon Experiment Station. 

The first step toward successful fruit culture is an orchard wisely 
planted. The several varieties must be so located that they may as- 
sist in the pollination of one another. This can only be done by a 
careful study as to the time of blooming of different varieties and the 
amount of pollen produced by each variety. Very careful observa- 
tions and notes were taken on all varieties on the college farm. It 
will be understood that all varieties of fruit-trees do not have the 
same power of producing pollen. If a large number of trees of a 
single variety be planted which are shy pollen producers, the lack of 
pollen will undoubtedly cause a failure in the crop of fruit ; and this 
danger of failure will be greatly increased if the weather is damp at 
the time of blooming. 

The pollen is conveyed from flower to flower by bees and other in- 
sects. Their object is the discovery of honey ; and while searching 
the recesses of the flower they unintentionally cover their bodies with 
pollen, which they convey to the next flower and unavoidably deposit 
on its stigma. If the amount of pollen produced is small, there will 
be but a small amount to distribute, and the fertilization would be 
either a failure or imperfect. This shows the necessity of planting 
trees which are shy producers of pollen along with those rich in 
pollen. Hence, to arrange the trees in an orchard, we ought to know 
the pollen-producing power of each variety. But this is but a begin- 
ning of work which must be continued through a series of years. We 
have many varieties on the college grounds which have not yet come 
into bearing, and hence are not reported. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 47 



SOME NOTES ON POLLINATION. 

Col. T. W. Harrison, of Topeka, set out carefully, some years ago, 
an orchard of choice plum trees. When they came into bearing, he 
found near the center of them a tree of the sloe — said to be the orig- 
inal plum. At blossoming time this sloe was always a perfect bou- 
quet. It was a vigorous, well-grown tree at all times, and the plum 
grove bore splendid crops. As the trees became older they began to 
crowd, and the colonel concluded that it was necessary to thin them 
out. The sloe seemed to take up more room than any other, and the 
fruit was very small and practically worthless, so he naturally grubbed 
it out first and dragged it to the wood-pile, and he declares that the 
entire orchard never in any one year thereafter yielded as much as a 
peck of plums. Do not get sentimental and imagine the trees were 
in mourning for their fallen consort ; they simply could not bear 
without the potent pollen of the vigorous sloe. Thus the apparently 
profitless sloe was as valuable as all the others together. Twentieth 
century science and horticultural education will teach us how to 
propagate, how to plant along sure lines, whereby we can literally 
"count our chickens [fruits] before they are hatched." — Secretary. 

FERTILIZING BARREN PLUM TREES. 

Mr. J. L. Irwin, a Kansas fruit-grower, says that an uncle of his "had a clump 
of plum trees which were, to all appearances, healthy, mature trees. They blos- 
somed freely each spring, but never had fruit, until upon investigation it was 
found that the blossoms lacked fertilizing pollen. As an experiment, a wild plum 
tree that^was just in blossom was cut and brought to the orchard, where it was 
set up in a barrel of water in the midst of the heretofore barren trees. The ex- 
periment resulted in an abundance of fruit. The wild tree furnished the fertiliz- 
ing pollen which the other trees did not supply." 

PLUMS THAT BLOOM BUT DO NOT BEAR. 

Plum growers in many localities, and under widely varying circumstances, 
have found that a heavy showing of blossoms is sometimes strangely followed 
by no plums at all. In many cases where all other conditions have seemed to be 
favorable, this has been thought to be due to the self-sterility of the blossoms 
and the lack of cross-pollination. Repeated experiments made by the Vermont 
station and by various plum growers, and a great number of field observations, 
have shown that this is indeed the fact, and that plums are often quite incapable 
of developing any fruit unless the blossoms are cross-pollinated. Mixed plant- 
ing and intergrafting are the remedies for this difficulty. — Montana Fra f 
Grower. 

STERILE BLOSSOMING PLUMS. 

I notice in the New York Tribune, September 13 [1999], that the agricultural 
department claims that all plums except Robinson have sterile blossoms; also 
that the different varieties bloom in the same order everywhere, though the time 



48 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

of bloom varies in different sections. According to the department, different 
sorts which blossom at the same time must be planted near one another in order 
to get a full crop of fruit. 

Some forty years ago, when I was a boy, the old Blue Damsons bore abun- 
dantly where no other sorts were within half a mile. I frequently see isolated 
trees of the Lombard and Moore's Arctic overloaded with fruit. To show that 
the order of bloom is not the same everywhere, I have only to compare the plum- 
blossom chart of J. W. Kerr, recorded at Delon, Md. , with my record here in 
eastern Maine. Burbank, April 9; Ogon, April 12; Chabot, April 13; Willard, 
April 17. This is from Mr. Kerr's chart, and gives the time when the first blos- 
soms of the sorts mentioned open. 

The following is from my record of 1898: Willard, May 13; Ogon, May 14; 
Burbank, May 15: Chabot, May 21. The order of bloom varies throughout the 
long lists from which I have selected. 

I do not think growers will always find results satisfactory when the self-sterile 
sorts are planted with other varieties blooming at the same time. I have the 
Ogon, which is self-sterile, within eight feet of the Red June, and near other 
sorts that bloom at the same time, and yet they have never produced half a 
crop. During the past six years, these Ogons have never failed to give a heavy 
bloom. In some instances where nearly the whole top is Red June, the remain- 
ing Ogon branches fruit fairly well. I have several Burbanks near the Ogon and 
Red June, some of which bore well the past season, and some failed apparently 
without any reason. The past .season, on my grounds, the Chabot (Bailey) blos- 
somed about a week later than any other sort, and yet these trees are loaded, 
which indicates they are not self-sterile. 

In my humble judgment, based on years of experience and observation, our 
unfavorable winters have half as much to do with these plum failures as self- 
sterility. — Chas. A. Miller, East Union, Me. 



SOME NOTES ON THINNING. 
Here are three sensible items about thinning fruit on the trees : 

THINNING FRUIT. 

I wonder how many of you practice the thinning of fruit on your apple trees. 
Now, apple trees will do a good deal if you do nothing for them. But the man 
who wants good apples — apples that will pay — in the future will practice thin- 
ning his fruit. I should take a young tree which attempted to produce 100 
apples and remove at least fifty of them, leaving not more than fifty to ripen. 
The next year, if it attempted to produce 200, I should leave ICO or less, and the 
next, if it had 1000 apples I should leave 300 or 400 only. By this method I 
should get that tree into the habit of annual bearing. The man who will make 
fruit-growing a profitable business will thin all his fruit. A peach tree that will 
set 1000 peaches needs to have 600 or 700 thinned off. The commercial side of 
fruit-growing demands thinning of nearly all your fruits. You will get more 
bushels to the tree: within reasonable bounds, the more you throw away the 
more pounds or bushels you will have left ; increased size more than makes up loss 
in number. In thinning Japanese plums I should leave the fruit four inches apart, 
and peaches from five to six inches. If you will make a practice of thinning 
your fruit from the trees,«you will usually get four dollars for one. I have often 
had it increase the crop fifty per cent., and the selling price 500 per cent. — J. II. 
Half, Maxauvh ant tin. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 49 

RESULTS IN CANADA. 

The practicability of thinning fruit, and its feasibility from a commercial 
standpoint, have been pretty well demonstrated in the last few years. In western 
New York, it has generally proved profitable wherever tried. Mr. John Craig re- 
ports, in the publications of the Canadian Central experiment farm, some results 
in thinning peaches and plums which corroborate the notes given from Mr. Beach 
and others. He concludes that, when a large crop is set, thinning peaches is 
highly remunerative, for the following reasons: (1) It increases the weight of the 
yield. (2) It largely increases the size of the fruit. (3) It reduces the number 
of matured seeds, thereby considerably lessening the drain on the vitality of 
the tree. (4) It renders the crop less liable to rot. Thinning plums likewise 
proved altogether worth while. — Country Gentleman. 

VALUE OF THINNING PLUMS ON TREES. 

In September, in one of the best plum-growing sections, I saw an orchard of 
400 trees, each of which yielded ten baskets of Lombard plums, or 4000 baskets 
in all, which sold at twenty-five cents, making a gross return of $1000 for these 
400 trees. I saw another orchard, not five miles away, that carried probably as 
large a number of baskets, but I am sure they would not realize more than fifty 
per cent, of the gross return of the first. The high prices scored by the first lot 
may be attributed to the fact that they were thinned, and the second was not. 
The Lombard is one of those trees which will kill itself by overbearing if it is not 
thinned. The fruit will, under these conditions, become small and very poorly 
colored, so that the smaller price for the largest number of baskets will not equal 
in gross return that secured from the smaller quantity of better quality obtained 
by thinning. Some varieties of American plums are very prolific ; if allowed to 
bear to their full extent will in a few years destroy themselves. In the case of 
the Weaver plum, two trees which were not thinned for three years died at the 
end of that period, and two other trees, which were thinned each year, are in 
good health and give fair returns each year. It is, therefore, not only possible 
by thinning to increase the quality of the fruit, but to keep your trees in health. 
— From a Quebec Pomological Society Report. 



GRAFTING THE PLUM AND CHERRY. 

By Prof. N. E. Hansen, Ames, Iowa, in Nebraska Horticultural Society report. 

Root-grafting of the cherry and plum in the house during winter 
is considered difficult by many, but it has been j)racticed at the Iowa 
Agricultural College, at Ames, every winter for many years, with good 
success. For plums, one-year seedlings of our native northern plum, 
Pnuius americana, are used, which are grown from jjits of the best 
cultivated varieties of the same species, such as Wyant, De Soto, and 
Wolf. Seedlings should not be grown from seeds gathered indis- 
criminately in the woods, but only from trees growing good-sized 
fruit. It has been found such seedlings are better and more uniform, 
and there is less liability to injurious influence of stock on scion. In 
the last two or three winters we have also used Marianna stocks, grown 
—4 



50 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

from cuttings, for root-grafting, and secured a good stand. For cher- 
ries, imported Mazzard stocks are used. Both plum and cherry stocks 
are packed away in thin layers, with earth between the layers, in a 
cool cellar. Only one scion is used to each root ; piece-root grafting 
does not give a good stand with the plum and cherry. 

The method used is that known as "side-grafting" or "wedge- 
grafting," and the scion is inserted at the collar. By collar, is meant 
the neck or line of junction between the stem and root. The scion is 
cut wedge shaped at the lower end with a perfectly true and straight 
cut, so it will fit snugly into the incision in the stock. The length of 
this wedge cut, one and one-half to two inches, depends on the size 
of the scion, a large scion requiring a long cut. The scion should 
contain about four buds besides the bud at the base or beginning of 
the wedge cut. The stock should have a ring of bark left above the 
incision. No wood is removed from the incision — simply a lateral cut 
long enough to receive the scion, cutting about two-thirds through 
the stock ; and care is exercised to cut across the grain slightly, so as 
to avoid splitting the wood. Use a sharp, thin-bladed knife ; a com- 
mon shoe knife does as good work as any. If the incision in the stock 
is properly made, the scion will be held very firmly by the natural 
spring or elasticity of the wood. In cutting the scion, make the in- 
side of the wedge cut thinner than the outside, so that the scion will 
fit neatly ; but this is often overdone, so that there is too great pres- 
sure on the cambium layer (layer between the wood and bark) for 
proper union. So, make the inside of the wedge cut very slightly, if 
at all, thinner than the outside. The vital point to be noticed is that 
the inner barks of the scion and stock must be brought together, so 
the union can be made when growth begins. 

Some device must be used to hold the seedling firmly while mak- 
ing the incision. The most convenient one for the grafting bench is 
simply half of a barrel stave fastened at the further end with a leather 
hinge. At the end next the grafter a strong wire is fastened around 
and passed through a hole in the grafting bench and fastened to a 
treadle below. In this manner the seedling is held very firmly. To 
prevent injury to the seedling, put a strip of leather on points of con- 
tact on inner edges of the stave and on top edge of grafting bench. 

Three men work best together — two to graft, and one to wind, wax, 
and pack. After grafting, the point of union is wound three or four 
times at toj) and bottom with waxed thread, and alcoholic plastic ap- 
plied with the thumb and finger. The plastic must also be aj^plied to 
the tip of the scion to prevent drying out. The grafts as waxed are 
run through sand so they will not stick together, and then packed 
away in a mixture of about one-half sand and one-half earth, in boxes, 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 51 

in the cellar or cave, same as apple-root grafts, keeping the tempera- 
ture as near freezing as possible, to prevent injury from the graft-box 
fungus. Even if frozen in the boxes no harm is done. The waxed 
thread is made of No. 18 knitting cotton run through melted wax onto 
an open drum, or hollow cylinder of wood, with a crank handle at- 
tached. The wax is softened with a little linseed oil. 

Recipe for alcoholic plastic : One pound white resin, one ounce 
beef tallow, one tablespoonful turpentine, five or six ounces alcohol. 
Melt resin slowly; take from fire and add tallow, stirring constantly. 
When still cooler add turpentine slowly, then alcohol. Wood or 
methyl alcohol is cheaper than common alcohol, and, as tried at the 
college, seems to answer the purpose equally well. It is poisonous, 
and should be so labeled. If the plastic becomes too stiff to work 
well, put vessel in a vessel of hot water and add more alcohol. The 
plastic should be of the consistency of thin syrup in order to work 
well. 

The scions are kept in boxes of dry forest leaves in the cellar ; the 
leaves contain sufficient moisture to keep the scions in good condition. 
The scions must be watched and not allowed to get either too plump 
or too shriveled, but better a little shriveled than too plump. 

With all stone fruits side-grafting is much preferable to whip- 
grafting. By comparing the two methods it will be seen that the 
side-graft has two surfaces on the scion to unite by, while the whip- 
graft has but one. In the nursery the side-graft can be used in the 
spring in crown-grafting seedlings, where the bud failed the preced- 
ing autumn. Side-grafting is also the best for all top-grafting oi 
plum and cherry. For outdoor work, the vessel containing the alcohol 
jjlastic is set in the top of a large lantern-shai^ed tin box with a lamp 
inside. The terms "top-grafting" and "top- working" are the same, 
the latter being more generally used in nursery work. It is most 
convenient for two men to work together — one to graft and the other 
to apply the plastic. 

Plums and cherries should be grafted before there is the least sign 
of starting of the buds; hence, pleasant days in March should be im- 
proved in this manner. However, they may be grafted after the buds 
have started, provided that the scions have started equally as much. 
But in general it is best to graft the stone fruits early, before the buds 
have started. No waxed thread is used in top-grafting. After insert- 
ing the scion, apply the alcoholic plastic to the point of union and 
wrap with a strip of old, thin, white muslin. The muslin will adhere 
to the slightly warm plastic and no thread is needed for tying. The 
exposed tip of the scion must be touched with the plastic to prevent 
drying out. The "robbers" or sprouts appearing on the stem below 



62 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

the graft must be removed from time to time as they appear, so the 
scion will have a fair chance for vigorous growth. If this is not done 
the scion will make but a feeble growth, or perish altogether, from 
lack of nutriment. 

In top-grafting young trees in the nursery it will not do to strip 
all the leaves appearing on the stem below the graft. All the buds 
for a short distance just below the point of union should be allowed 
to expand, in order to "draw up the sap" and cause vigorous growth. 
If these buds push too strongly, keep in check by pinching. As the 
graft grows these leaves on the stock can be gradually removed, be- 
ginning with the buds next to the graft. In top- working plums and 
cherries, the outer bark often becomes tough and dry, so it will not 
expand to make room for the deposit of new wood in June. The graft 
is then in danger of perishing from tight lacing, and the corset strings 
must be cut. Do this by slitting the bark lengthwise in several places, 
taking care not to cut into the wood, as this is apt to cause gumming. 

The general experience in top-grafting plum trees in the nursery 
is not favorable. Especially is it a poor plan to top- work European 
varieties on natives stocks ; the top outgrows the stock and is injured 
or blown ofP in strong winds. But a row of unfruitful Miner plums 
may be made productive by top-grafting some limbs in each tree with 
good varieties of Prunus americana, such as Wyant, De Soto, and 
Wolf, whose blossoms have an abundant supply of pollen to fertilize 
the Miner. Mr. B. A. Mathews, of Knoxville, Iowa, grows large crops 
of Miner and Wild Goose by planting them alternately in the row, 
and top-grafting some limbs in each tree with productive varieties of 
Prunus americana. At the Iowa Agricultural College good results 
and more abundant fruiting have been attained by top-grafting na- 
tive plums. 

PLUMS. 

By B. B. Smyth. Eead before Shawnee County Horticultural Society March, 1900. 

Native fruits are always adapted to the places where they grow. 
The plum is one of the most desirable native American fruits. There 
are only three species of plum native in Kansas, though there are a 
good many varieties of these species. The American Red plum is 
found in the timbered portions of the eastern part of the state, and 
is not here in its greatest perfection, this being its western limit and 
nearly its southern limit. The Chickasaw plum is a small tree of the 
southeastern and southern portions of the state. The Sand-hill 
plum is a shrub of the desert region, and is found in its greatest per- 
fection in the sand-hills along the rivers of the central part of the 
state. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 53 

All plum trees require moisture that must be nearly equal all the 
year around. Stagnant water is not conducive to the health of the 
plum tree, neither is much water of any kind, but moist earth the 
year around seems to be essential. The Sand-hill plum seems to be 
well adapted to the climate of Kansas. It is a small, scraggly tree or 
shrub, often not more than two feet high, but often bears a very deli- 
cious variety of fruit. The varieties of Sand-hill plums are very 
numerous, perhaps equal to any other species. They are all sizes, 
from the size of the egg of the prairie-chicken down to that of a large 
bean, and their colors vary from yellow through all shades of orange 
to nearly a bright red, and even a purple or bluish. The pits are 
smooth or furry, nearly globular or flattish, and with or without a dis- 
tinct crease running down one edge of the pit. They vary from sour 
to a delicious sweet, and it often happens that a very desirable variety 
may be found in abundance on certain bushes, while others near by 
and growing in precisely similar situations, bear only undesirable 
fruit. 

Many experiments have been made, both at the Kansas Agri- 
cultural College and other jjlaces, to graft desirable varieties of 
European and Japanese plums upon our Sand-hill plum as stock, but 
such experiments have almost invariably proven failures. The tend- 
dency of the Sand-hill plum to sjorout at the root would prevent the 
success of any such experiment, even though the graft succeeded, as 
one would soon have more of the native fruit than of the grafted 
variety. Experiments in grafting scions of the Sand-hill plum on 
stocks of the more rapid-growing kinds have not been largely tried, 
but would, no doubt, be desirable for many purposes. It has not 
been thought desirable to graft Sand-hill plums on rapid-growing 
stocks for the reason that the fruit of the rapid-growing kinds is 
usually considered superior to that of the Sand-hill plum ; but the 
advantage to be derived from the grafts is that the flowers and fruit 
of the Sand-hill ijlum are almost always liable to develop, while the 
introduced varieties will only develop when the season is exception- 
ally favorable for that variety. 

There are many enemies of the introduced species of plums in 
Kansas ; among them may be mentioned, first, climate, second, insects. 
Introduced plums are natives of climates moister and less changeable 
than this during blossoming time. Then, too, particular species of 
insects that aid in the fertilization of the Japan plum or European 
plum, for instance, have not been introduced into this state; and the 
foreign plum trees not being grown here in great abundance, such in- 
sects cannot be relied upon if introduced. Foreign trees dei:)end 
largely u2)on bees for their perfection, and we do not raise many bees. 



54 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

Curculio and other insects, such as we have, do not aid in developing 
perfect plums, but rather have a tendency to destroy the plum. The 
characteristics of the Sand-hill plums are such as to ward against de- 
struction by insects and fungi. The skin is very thick, which pro- 
tects against enemies and results to a greater degree in the perfect 
ripening of that species of fruit. 

Let some of our experiment stations try grafting some of our Sand- 
hill plums on the more rapidly growing plum stocks and see if the tree 
will not be better adapted to bearing through every season than it 
otherwise would. The young grafts in that case would not die for 
lack of sustenance; while, with the contrary method of grafting the 
rapidly growing plum, it does not receive sustenance enough from the 
Sand-hill plum stock to keep it alive. 

I have a great deal of faith in the Sand-hill plum as being the best 
adapted to this climate of any plum in existence, and believe that ex- 
periments should be made toward finding out what kind of stock will 
best nourish it. If a plum tree that is not disposed to cast sprouts 
should be top-grafted all through its head with the Sand-hill plum, 
the chances are that it would bear fruit every year, as the Sand-hill 
plum very seldom fails to bear a crop ; and, so far as my observation 
goes, it is not ajffected by the curculio as the American jjlum and 
other plums are. 

Note. — The paper was discussed by Messrs. Barnes, Lux, Harrison, and 
others. The general result of the discussion was to the effect that a plum tree 
that is a vigorous grower but a shy bearer should not be cut down, bu left to 
grow for the benefit to be derived from it in the pollen that will be carried from 
it to the other trees in the orchard, as trees which are excellent bearers are often 
deficient in pollen, and need to have pollen carried to them from some other tree 
that bears plenty of it. — Secretary. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

We gathered the following short articles from various sources. In 
most cases they record actual experiences, and the plum grower will 
find something worth remembering in every one of them : 

PLANTING TREE SEEDS. 

Apple seed and plum and cherry pits can be kept in the cellar in condition to 
grow, with proper attention to watering. But in any ordinary dry cellar the sand 
gets too dry to prepare the seeds for germinating the first season. It is much 
safer to bury outside where they will have regular moisture and more or less 
freezing and thawing. It is also safe to plant these seeds and pits in the fall, if 
properly managed. Cover the seed at least three inches deep, in drills, by 
mounding two inches above the surface. Early in spring rake off the mound, 
leaving the seed one inch deep ,with a mellow surface for a seed-bed. In this 
way the surface is not packed, and the plants will make larger growth the first 
season than we secure with spring planting. — Prof. J. L. Jhcdd. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 55 

A NEW METHOD OF GRAFTING. 

A friend in Oregon tells me that he has succeeded perfectly in grafting apples 
and plums as early in the spring as possible, when they are in a dormant condi- 
tion, by the following novel method: Supposing the seedlings were planted this 
spring. Next spring he removes the earth to the depth of two to four inches 
about the crown, and having a number of scions cut the proper length and slit- 
ted, makes a slit in the crown of the stock as it stands in the ground, and slips 
the scion in place. Then, without tying or waxing the graft, he draws the earth 
carefully about the graft, packing it in firmly, leaving only the top of the graft 
above the ground. He does not cut off the seedling stock which he has thus 
grafted until the graft has grown several inches, thinking that the graft would 
succeed better not to remove the top of the seedling thus grafted. He tells me 
that he scarcely lost any grafts by this method. I see no reason why this plan 
should not succeed as well here, and in other places, as in Oregon, providing the 
soil is not too stiff and clayey. In order to succeed the soil should be in fine till, 
and in the cultivation given later care must be taken not to disturb the graft. — 
Green'^H Fruit Growey. 

PLUMS A PROFITABLE FRUIT. 

A fruit-grower in northern Missouri related the following experience before 
the Missouri State Horticultural Society: 

"In the spring of 1896 I planted about 500 plum trees. They are planted 
on very high ground, sloping sharply to the north, with West Big creek on the 
west less than forty rods, and East Big creek on the east less than eighty rods. 
The land was originally what we call oak-opening land, but the oaks had been 
cut many years ago, and it had grown up a second growth, which was cleared off 
the winter before planting. But few trees were lost, and these were reset in 1897 
and again filled in in 1898, so that now there are 520 plum trees. The groiind 
has been kept clean and well cultivated. The trees have made a good growth, 
and some of them will bear a few plums this year. I planted very largely of the 
PruriKH (loDicstica type, the Damson preponderating very largely, with a few of 
the Japans and a very few of the americana. I am now satisfied that if a mis- 
take has been made at all in varieties it is in not planting enough Japans. The 
reason for planting so few (only about thirty) was that at the time they were 
planted none of the Japans, to my knowledge, had borne fruit in this county, but 
since that some Abundance trees have borne fine fruit at an early age. At this 
time the Abundance and Burbank are full of fruit, while the Satsuma, Willard 
and the Yellow Japan have none, although the Sutsuma bloomed full. I planted 
but few of the americana — only two or three of a kind and only a few varieties. 
The reason was that I do not consider them profitable here, for, while they bear 
abundantly, they do not command ready sale, the surplus from the scattered 
trees almost supplying the local demand. They do not seem solid enough to 
stand long shipments; they are not so rich or so good when cooked as the do- 
mesfica, and the trees do not seem to grow or bear any better. 

"From observation, I believe that the Damson will be the best domestica 
plum here for profit, and for that reason have planted more of them than of any 
other variety. After them are those of similar habits, and that seemingly have 
Damson blood in them, such as the Richland; also the Lombard, Bradshaw and 
similar strains have all grown and borne well here. Of the Damsons I have fifty 
Shropshires — fine growers, and bid fair to bear young; also fifty common Dam- 
sons. Then I have 100 of a variety of the Damson for which no distinct name 
is known, and never saw them anywhere except in this county. I could not find 
them in any of the nurseries and had to plant sprouts. They are fine growers, 



56 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

prolific bearers, and seem particularly suited to our soil and climate. I believe 
them to be a seedling that has not yet been described; have been unable to trace 
them back to their origin, but still hope to succeed in doing so. Some of the 
trees not over six feet high bloomed this spring. I have Lombard, Bradshaw, 
Spaulding, Shippers' Pride, Moore's Arctic and German Prune in quantity, with 
a few of many other varieties on trial. ... I prune these trees somewhat 
after Hale's rule for pruning the peach — that is, by cutting back in March about 
half of last year's growth — but shall cut less as the trees get more age." 

SAVED HIS TREES BY MULCHING. 

A correspondent of Popular Gardening tells how he saved hie plum crop in 
the summer of 1890: July and August were very dry, and I began to have fears 
that I would lose my plums from this cause, as the leaves began to droop and the 
plums to shrink. To counteract the effects of the drought, I covered the ground 
under the trees, so far as the branches extended, with coarse manure to the depth 
of six or eight inches, and then thoroughly soaked it with water. The watering 
was repeated after a few days, and I was agreeably surprised to see the trees re- 
vive, the plums swell out plump and nice, so that, as a result, I harvested a mag- 
nificent crop of choice plums which readily brought four dollars a bushel. 

HOW TO PLANT A PLUM ORCHARD. 

There is a tendency toward too close planting and sometimes this is carried to 
extremes. I have seen several plum orchards planted 10x10 feet that, even now, 
when only five years old, have much the appearance of thickets. Cultivation is 
impossible, the fruit is small and difficult to get at, insects find a safe harbor, and 
the whole arrangement is unsatisfactory and unprofitable. The condition grows 
worse with each year. In most cases the suggested remedy, removing alternate 
trees, will not be followed until too late, if at all, and within a very few years the 
whole must of necessity be destroyed and the labor of planting lost. The most 
common practice is to plant 15x15 feet, but this is too close for fully developed 
trees of spreading habit. A better plan is to plant 15x20 feet, or to adopt the 
accepted California practice and allow 20x20 feet. 

There seems to be a decided preference for low-headed trees, on the ground 
that they are less subject to injury from winds, and that less trunk is exposed to 
the action of the sun. With low-headed trees the disadvantages of close plant- 
ing are more quickly apparent. The best formed trees are those headed at from 
thirty to thirty-six inches from the ground, and this is the distance preferred. 
Young trees are frequently injured by what are known as frost cracks, a longi- 
tudinal splitting of bark and wood on the south side of the trunk, occurring in 
late winter or early spring, and attributable to the extreme daily range of tem- 
perature, which often occurs at this season. To guard against this injury, the 
trunk should be protected in some way. 

Various devices have been used, but we have found wrapping with burlap the 
most effective and least expensive. Burlap that had been used for baling was 
purchased at dry-goods stores for two cents a pound, and cut into four-inch strips, 
three and four feet long, one pound giving, as an average, nine strips. These 
are wound spirally on the trunks, being held at the top by a lap and by tying 
with cord at the bottom. One man can cover from fifty to sixty trees an hour, 
with the material prepared and ready at hand. The covering is applied in No- 
vember and removed in April or May. The same bands will serve two or three 
seasons. The whole cost is less than one cent a tree, and well repays the trouble. 
— C. S. C, in Denver Field and Farm. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 57 

A COMMERCIAL PLUM ORCHARD. 

In planting a commercial plum orchard, location, varieties and management 
must be well considered. While the plum is not so sensitive to location as the 
peach, it will not bear the neglect which so frequently falls to the apple. A good 
elevation is desirable, but not absolutely essential to success, provided other 
conditions are favorable, such as a good soil and thorough drainage. There 
should be but few varieties in a commercial orchard, but those selected should 
combine size, quality, and a fine appearance. As a rule, blue and purple plums 
sell best, as the yellow varieties are frequently placed on the market before they 
are ripe. 

A good general list will include the following: Of the dark kinds, Bradshaw, 
Duane, Purple, German Prune, Lombard, Englebert, Quackenboss; of the yellow 
sorts, Coe's Golden Drop, General Hand, Jefferson, Yellow Egg. There are 
many other excellent varieties, but the above is a good general list. Of the 
Japanese plums, Abundance, Burbank, Bailey, Satsuma and Willard have been 
highly recommended. 

Thorough cultivation, early and frequent spraying, and the jarring sheet for 
curculio, are necessary to success. Before the leaves start, go over the orchard 
and carefully cut out and burn all black knot. This is imperative. The trees 
should receive what pruning they require before the buds start, and the first 
spraying should be just as the buds are opening. Corn and potatoes may be 
planted in young orchards, but when the trees come into bearing they should re- 
ceive the full use of the land. Never sow wheat or oats among trees, as they are 
sure to rob the orchard of more than they return the owner. — G. L. P., in Ameri- 
can AgriculturiHt. 

RAISING PLUMS IN NEW YORK. 

For years the culture of the plum in New York was largely confined to the 
region adjacent to the Hudson river. Indeed, commercially considered, the busi- 
ness may be said to have had its inception there, from which it has moved west- 
ward, and to-day has become one of the largest of the fruit-growing industries. 
The European sorts, comprising a few varieties only, are principally grown, and 
will be for years to come, while the advent of those of the Japan type has given 
a fresh impulse to the business that is likely to continue. The Abundance was 
first introduced, followed by the Burbank, which, by reason of its superior ship- 
ping qualities, great productiveness, and acknowledged value as a canning fruit, 
heads the list as a favorite orchard sort. Satsuma is gradually growing into fa- 
vor, with sentiment divided as to productivenes and quality, while its color is 
against it as a market sort. Of more recent introduction, the Red June has 
shown itself to be wonderfully hardy in fruitbud, very early in ripening, its fruit 
of good quality, and so attractive in color as to command the markets on which 
it is placed, while Wickson, October Purple and Hale complete the list of those 
seedlings of foreign parentage destined to work a revolution in American plum 
growing. The Wickson, while of excellent quality and great beauty, has up to 
the present time failed to show sufficient productiveness to entitle it to a place in 
the commercial orchard. The trees make a strong growth and, at this season of 
the year, as usual, are loaded with fruit-buds that give an enormous bloom but 
fail to set the fruit. It is possible that with increasing age this fault may be 
changed. To my own taste the Hale excels all others in quality, while the Octo- 
ber Purple, maturing its fruit quite late and being so attractive in color, will 
without doubt supply the requirements and great demand for a late plum. It 
may be picked green, and in the course of ten days or two weeks will be found to 
color and mature perfectly for market. — *S'. D. W., in American Agriculturist. 



58 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

ONE WHO DOES NOT FEAR THE CURCULIO. 

Plums are a desirable attraction to any home. I can remember the plum 
trees which furnished such delectable fruit on the old farm homestead, where I 
was born fifty years ago. I remember to-day how those fat, yellow, juicy plums ' 
tasted to me as a boy. Remembering this, and remembering that children enjoy 
such fruits far more than older people, I have ever placed an abundance of fruit 
in their reach. 

About twenty years ago plum culture was almost abandoned, owing to the 
depredations of the curculio, which stung the jjlums early in the season, and 
seriously injured the crop. Currant culture was also abandoned, owing to the 
currant worm, and potato cvilture was almost abandoned, owing to the potato bug, 
but later it was learned that these insects could easily be destroyed, and that, 
where large orchards of plum trees were grown, curculio was often a blessing in 
thinning out surplus fruit, since plum trees, more than any other fruit-trees, are 
liable to overbear; therefore, where plume are grown in orchards, often no atten- 
tion is paid to curculio; indeed, the curculio is not dreaded by any one in these 
days who understands its habits, I grow the plum in my city yard, pay no at- 
tention to the curculio, and get an abundant crop. The plum comes into bear- 
ing at an early date, often two or three years after planting. The trees can be 
planted more closely together than the apple, pear or cherry, the branches not 
being so wide-spread. Do not fail to plant at least a few plum trees. — G. IF., in 
Orcen^s Fruit Oroiccr. 

THE BANNER PLUM ORCHARD IN MICHIGAN. 

According to Greenes Fruit Grower, Prof. W. J. Green thought the finest 
crops of plums ever grown in Michigan had been produced at Grand Rapids last 
year in an orchard of 1200 trees occupying four acres of ground. It was owned 
by a commercial traveler, and the man in charge had orders to cultivate after 
every rain and at other times when there was nothing else to do. The orchard 
was cultivated forty-two times. Plum rot was very bad last year, but only thirty- 
three per cent, dropped from sprayed trees, while eighty-four per cent, dropped 
from those not sprayed. Leaving every third tree unsprayed each year contami- 
nated those sprayed, and the percentage of rot was greater than it would have 
been could all of the trees have been treated. He thought Abundance and Bur- 
bank plums would be a permanent addition to the fruit list, and probably some 
others of the Japan list; but it would be useless to plant any Japan variety in 
localities where early bloom was liable to be destroyed by the late frosts, all the 
species being early bloomers, some blooming two weeks earlier than native and 
European sorts. The foregoing forms an elegant tribute to the practices of 
thorough cultivation and thinning. 

SATSUMA AS A PLUM STOCK. 

The Marianna plum is very generally used as a stock for the plum. The 
stocks are grown in the South from the cuttings, as they root there very rapidly, 
and will not do so in the North. The seeds of the Myrobalan (which is a species 
of plum from Europe, and of which the Marianna is a variety) are also grown 
for plum stocks. I have lately heard that the Satsuma plum, which is one of 
the Japan varieties, makes a most excellent stock for the plum and peach, too. 
If this is true, and it will grow from cuttings, then we have a very valuable 
thing that we did not suppose we had. I do not see why the seedlings of any of 
the Japan plums might not be good for plum and, perhaps, peach stocks, too. 
The trouble would be to get the seeds out of the fruit without losing the pulp; 
for they are nearly all clings, except Ogon. Cherry stocks must be of two kinds. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 59 

The sour cherries should be budded on Mahaleb seedlings. The Hearts and 
other rank-growing kinds of the sweet class should be worked on Mazzard stocks. 
This is necessary because of the diverse natures of the two classes. The stock 
and scion or bud must be reasonably congenial if the best results are to follow. — 
Professor Van Deman, in Rural New Yorker. 

ANOTHER PROFITABLE PLUM ORCHARD. 

While living in the village I planted some seventy-five plum trees on a portion 
of my lot, built a fence around them and kept hens among the trees. Most of 
the trees were Lombards, and by close pruning and thinning of the fruit I got 
very good results. Many of the trees commenced to bear the second season after 
planting. I remember one tree in particular that gave me a half bushel of beau- 
tiful plums the next season after it was set out. It was a Geuii, but it nearlj' 
killed the tree. Another tree (a Lombard) produced four bushels of plums. At 
four years old I got four dollars a bushel for my plums, so it will be seen that 
there was money in plums. The last season I lived on the place I got about sev- 
enty-five bushels of plums from the seventy-five trees and several of the trees 
were not old enough to bear. The next season it was estimated that there was 
100 bushels, and now after six years the orchard, owing to neglect of its present 
owner, is well covered with black knot, and worthless. This orchard, if properly 
cared for, would have given an annual income of at least ten per cent, on the 
money paid me for the place, and three days' work each year, aside from picking, 
would have been all the time required to have kept the trees in first-class shape. 

On my present place I have 200 plum trees that have been bearing one to six 
years, and this spring [1900] I will set out 300 more trees. — A. A. H., in Green'' s 
Fruit Grower. 

HAS ABSOLUTE FAITH IN JAPAN VARIETIES. 

A large number of my plum trees are of the Japan varieties, such as Abun- 
dance, Burbank, and a few each of Wickson, Red June, Hale, Chabot, and Sat- 
suma (the latter is worthless here), and my this spring's order will call for 
Lombard, Red June, Wickson, Abundance, and Chabot (Yellow Japan). This 
will give me an orchard of 500 plum trees, which, of course, is not a large one, as 
compared with some of the large commercial orchards of the country, but if 
rightly cared for should give quite a lot of plums after three or four years. 

I have great faith in the varieties of Japans named in this list, and would not 
hesitate to plant large orchards of them. I also have great expectations for the 
newer varieties of Mr. Burbank's creations, samples of which he sent me last sea- 
son. Climax is especially fine; also America, Chalco, and Apple. I also have 
Giant Prune top-grafted, which produced beautiful fruit the second year from the 
graft. 

Of the older varieties of plums Lombard stands at the head of the list here. 
We already have quite a large per cent, of this variety, and shall plant 100 more 
this spring. When we first commenced planting trees on this place we put red 
raspberries in between the rows of trees on a part of the lot, but I would not do 
it again, or advise any one else to do so. Trees planted the next spring with no 
raspberries among them are certainly twice as large, and have given me ten times 
more fruit than those where there v?ere berry bushes. 

We ran the cultivator in them as long as we could, and have manured the 
land well, yet the bushes seem to get the best of it. We will root out the rasp- 
berries after this season and give the land up to the trees and hens. I believe it 
is better to get one good crop of fruit from the land than two poor ones, although 
we should not complain much, for we have got each year a fine crop of berries 
that have brought good prices. 



60 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 



GROWING PLUMS IN KANSAS. 

EXPERIENCE, CONCLUSIONS AND ADVICE FROM SIXTY-FOUR KANSAS 
FRUIT-GROWERS. 



H. M. Kice, Muscotah, Atchison county. I have fifteen plum trees in 
bearing which have been planted four years: the^- are Wild Goose, Pottawatomie, 
and Blue Damson. Of these, the best bearer is Wild Goose. I have tried most 
of the Japanese varieties and found them worthless. My soil is a sandy loam, 
sloping to the south. Plant fifteen feet apart. Usually receive $1.50 [per bushel] 
for the fruit. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If planting 
all over again, I would set out the Wild Goose. Would plant in the chicken yard. 
My neighbors do not grow plums. Do not consider them a good paying crop in 
this locality. 

W. H. Tucker, Effingham, Atchison county. I have thirty plum trees 
in bearing which have been planted from eight to fifteen years. There are fifteen 
Wild Goose, six wild Kansas, five Abundance, and four of Shippers' Favorite* 
The best bearer is the wild variety. My land is a high prairie composed of black, 
sandy loam. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. My neighbors 
grow but few plums. 

C. A. Blaokniore, Sharon, Barber county. This is my seventh year in 
Barber county. I have a plum orchard of about 400 trees; I have several va- 
rieties of the Chickasaw type that bear heavily every year, and are of good size 
and quality. Wild Goose is of but little value: it bears but little, and is sub- 
ject to leaf rust and other diseases: I would not plant it. Forest Rose is a 
good plum: tree hardy and a good bearer. Marianna is worthless. Damson, 
Shropshire, Green Gage and German prune do well. German sometimes fall 
off on account of curculio. Of the Japanese varieties, the Red June bore a 
heavy crop last year; not a plum fell off; they are the size and shape of guinea 
eggs; dark red in color; pit small. Wickson is a very rapid, upright grower; 
it bloomed heavily last year, but all blossoms fell off. Abundance is a very 
beautiful, upright tree, which promises to do well. Burbank is a rank, spread- 
ing grower, and promises well here. Hale is a rapid grower, too young with 
me to fruit. Gold is a hardy tree, and hung full of golden fruit last year; it 
blooms very early : think the frost will usually get it. J^nnius simouii, Satsuma, 
W'olf , Shippers' Pride, Pond's Seedling, Kelsey and some others I have not yet 
fruited. Weaver does not bear at all. Ohio Beauty, a September plum, does 
well when the autumn is not dry. My soil is sandy and from three to ten feet 
to the water. Blooming time of different varieties [ in Barber county] : Gold, Red 
June, and Satsvima, first blooms appear April 12; are in full bloom by the 1.5th, 
and have fallen by the 23d. Wickson and Burbank, first blooms appear April 12; 
in full bloom by the 16th, and have fallen by the 23d. Chickasaw, first blooms 
appear April 14; in full blossom by the 18th, and have fallen by the 27th. Poole's 
Pride, first blooms appear April 15: is in full blossom by the 18th, and have fallen 
by the 26th. Wild Goose, first blooms appear April 15; is in full blossom by the 
20th, and have fallen by the 25th. Ohio Beauty, first blooms appear April 20; is 
in full bloom by the 27th, and have fallen by the .30th. German, first blooms ap- 
pear April 22: is in full bloom by the 27th, and have fallen by the 30th. Damson, 
first blossoms appear April 22 : full bloom by the 28th, and have fallen by the 30th. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 61 

A. S. Huff, Enon, Barber county. Plums are a success in this part of the 
state, especially the Wild Goose. I consider the plum a successful crop, one that 
we can always rely upon. My plum orchard has borne good crops for nine 
years, or ever since old enough to bear, and a crop I could not well get along 
without. Other varieties that I have are not as successful. 

E. T. Daniels, Kiowa, Barber county. I have twenty plum trees in bearing, 
planted from five to twenty years; they are Wild Gcose, Lombard, De Soto, 
Wolf, Lambert, Abundance, Burbank, and Satsuma. Of these I find the Wild 
Goose, Lombard, De Soto, Abundance and Burbank to be the best bearers. 
Those doing best are Abundance and Burbank. My Satsuma tree died; do n't 
think much of it; but the other two are No. 1. Will have Red June and Wick- 
son in bearing next year. I plant twelve feet apart. I have grown, budded and 
grafted my own trees. If planting over, I would set out Abundance, Burbank, 
Wild Goose, De Soto, and a few Lombard, close to the house, so I could keep the 
birds out of them; otherwise they get most of the fruit. 

J. R. Diiiikiii, Sharon, Barber county. Here in Barber county plums of 
all varieties, as a rule, do well unless they get frosted about blooming season; I 
do not remember their being killed while dormant. Of the Americans, I prefer 
Lombard, Forest Rose, Chickasaw, Wild Goose, and Wolf. The Marianna is a 
poor plum here. Of Japan varieties. Abundance, Burbank, Kelsey, Pniiius 
Hinioiiii, Wickson, Hale, Chabot, Red June and Willard do well here; there are 
many others not yet tested sufficiently, but I think this the land of and for the 
plum. Plums are in good demand, and sell readily at fifty cents to one dollar 
per bushel. It surely must pay to plant the plum liberally here in Barber 
county. I would recommend planting more of them. 

C. L/. Gunii, Heizer, Barton county. I have twenty plum trees in bearing, 
planted from ten to fifteen years. They are the Wild Goose and three varieties 
that I do not know the names of. One is a very large, purple plum; the other 
two resemble the Wild Goose somewhat. They are all good bearers, excepting 
the purple one, which blooms so early it generally gets caught by frost. They 
are planted among apple trees, on a level, sandy creek bottom. I generally get 
from seventy-five cents to one dollar per bushel. Have never grown, budded or 
grafted my own trees. The hardy varieties pay reasonably well here. 

George Ettrirtge, Roberts, Barton county. I have eighteen plum trees: 
Ten Pottawatomie, two Wild Goose, six I don't know the names of. I have a 
lot of wild plums I got off the Smoky river; some are as good as Wild Goose. 
Those that are bearing are the two Wild Goose, and one other I don't know the 
name of. It is no good, no matter what the name is. The Wild Goose does very 
well here. I set out, cultivate and care for them the same as for cherries. Plant 
in rows ten feet apart each way. Do not prune much. My Pottawatomie had 
a few plums on last season, at two years old; I think they are too small. The 
only thing that seems to bother my plums, both wild and tame, is the curculio. 
Some years they are bad; other years they do not bother. I never spray. 

L. C. Clark, Hiawatha, Brown county. In the planting of a plum orchard 
several important facts should be kept in view. {!) Plant thickly or closie 
together, not farther than twelve to fourteen feet apart, and mix varieties in, 
planting a row of one kind and then a row of some other kind; there are many 
varieties of plums that but imperfectly fertilize their own flowers; hence the 
necessity of other kinds in the vicinity. [2) Plant enough trees to make it worth 
while to cultivate and give them attention, and furnish enough fruit for the 



62 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

curculio and the family also. We see isolated trees nearly always bare of plums, 
partly for lack of fertilization, and because there are about so many insects on a 
given area of earth, and if you have a few trees they will concentrate on these 
few, and the crop is entirely destroyed. While if twenty to fifty trees had been 
planted the curculio does an equal or greater amount of destruction, but there 
are plenty of plums left for family use or market. This same rule works with 
cherries and the birds: one or two trees, birds get the majority ; a long row, birds 
get about the same number, but there are plenty left for market. We plant 
plums twelve feet each way, but this can be changed to ten by fourteen feet, and 
give a wider space one way for cultivation. In an orchard of 275 trees we planted 
the following varieties, which ripen nearly in the order named: Ten Earliest of 
All, 10 American Eagle, 10 Poole's Pride, 31 Red June, 16 Abundance, 16 Burbank, 
16 Wild Goose, 17 Moore's Arctic, 3i Gold, 35 Wickson, 20 Orient, 6 Clingstone 
Damson, 10 Freestone Damson, 10 Grand Duke, 10 Monarch, 7 Coe's Golden 
Drop. We planted in the fall and mulched with stable litter, to prevent severe 
freezing of roots; to favor the formation of callouses on cut and bruised roots, 
scatter the litter in the spring. Plant from three to four inches deeper than the 
tree stood in the nursery, and cultivate shallow, not over two or three inches — 
probably less would be better. After the orchard is four to six years old seed it 
down to clover and pasture with hc^s, or make a chicken-yard of it. In the 
absence of hogs or chickens, pick up all fallen fruit and destroy it, as here is the 
breeding-place of many insects that injure the plum. Head plum trees low, and 
they need very little pruning; as far as practical, in pruning favor the growth of 
a leading stem, and let all other branches be secondary. If two branches grow 
out equally, forming a fork, cut one back severely and encourage the growth of 
the other by leaving growth full length; this will prevent crotches, which split 
down when heavily loaded with plums. Most varieties can be shaken upon sheets 
in gathering for home market, thus getting the ripest fruit, but for shipping to a 
distant market they should be carefully picked by hand. 

J. H. ]>Ioyer, Hiawatha, Brown county. The first plums that I planted 
here on my farm were the Chickasaw. They were sent to me by my father from 
northern Illinois. They were sprouts from the roots of old trees and did not 
bear where I planted them. I think that the curculio was the cause of them 
not bearing, and having read that plums ought to be planted close to the hen- 
house so that the chickens could get at the curculio and destroy them, which 
they certainly would do, I took up my trees and planted them in the chicken- 
yard, but did not succeed much better: still I had one or two good crops, but I 
would not plant any more Chickasaws if the trees were given to me. It is the 
poorest plum for eating and canning I have ever raised. Next I planted the 
De Soto; these we grafted (spliced) on Chickasaw roots. These came in bearing 
in three years from grafting. The De Soto was a good plum and was well liked 
by all of my customers. The only fault with this plum is that they bear too 
full; the trees could not hold up under the load of fruit, and when so full the 
plums are small. For this plum I found ready sale in the orchard at $1 per 
bushel. At the time of grafting the De Soto, we also grafted a large purple and 
a green plum. The names of these I did not get. The purple plum bore several 
crops, and I found ready sale for them at three dollars per bushel. This was a 
better plum than some of the California plums sold in our towns here. The green 
plum is also a very fine plum, but rots badly on the trees when nearly ripe. 

On the 20th of September, 1894, when these trees were eleven years old, we 
had a severe hail-storm, which caused nearly all of them to die. I had, how- 
ever, planted in the spring of 1893, 200 so-called Pottawatomie plums. They were 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 63 

badly mixed, being no less than four different kinds, with two or three wild ones 
among them. There were a number of a variety that looks and grows so near 
like the Wild Goose that almost any one would say it was the same; but not so. 
A few Wild Goose mixed in ripen nearly a week earlier than this other kind. 
This is a better plum than the Wild Goose, is more round, good size, and fine 
looking. It generally brings twenty-five cents a bushel more than the Potta- 
watomie. I was told by a fruit man that they were the Moore's Arctic: another 
tree salesman called them Charles Downing. It is a good bearer and fine seller. 
In this lot of trees I also found several which reminded me of a picture I used to 
see in my boyhood days, where the artist tried to show us what the tree with the 
forbidden fruit looked like ; the foliage looks as green as any I ever saw, and the 
plums are as red and glossy as paint or varnish could make them, and this a 
month before they are ripe. The plums look very tempting when red and still as 
sour as a wild crab. I at first thought them worthless. Some of my customers 
thought I should have a name for each, and rather insisted on it; so I named it 
"Devil's Choice." Not a very nice name, is it? But I think you will under- 
stand why I gave it that name. It is rather dry and mealy-like, a very dark red, 
drops easily when ripe, and will lie under the trees and wilt, but seldom rote, 
while the others named will not keep long after ripening. The Pottawatomie is 
an enormous bearer, and on that account rather small. It is very thin-skinned 
and very sweet; would be a poor shipper on account of thin skin, and its sweet- 
ness attracts the bees —they like to work on them. They are so full of juice it 
often runs out of the boxes that I haul them around in. 

After the hail-storm I spoke of I had to cut fully ninety per cent, of the tops 
off of my young trees. Only a very few limbs were left on them. I have done 
no trimming since; I am not satisfied, in my mind, that it would pay. I be- 
lieve it would increase the size of the plums some, but I doubt very much 
whether it would increase the number of bushels sufficiently to pay me, as I am 
always too busy, and I would not hire it done unless I knew that I had a hand 
who thoroughly understood his business. While my trees were small and not 
in bearing I planted potatoes between them ; as soon as they began to bear, I 
made a pig-tight fence around the orchard and turned my spring pigs in after 
they were old enough to wean. As soon as the plums began to ripen I turned 
the pigs out and commenced to pick the fruit, always shaking the trees lightly, 
so as to get just the ripe plums each day. The bad plums were carefully picked 
up each day and carried to the hogs as the good plums were gathered. I have 
quit turning the pigs in the orchard, as some of the trees are so low that the limbs 
often touch the ground; but when my plums begin to ripen, I go through the 
orchard and pick up all the plums, even down to the dry pits, and feed them to 
the hogs, and always, after that, when we gather the plums, each picker has two 
vessels, one for the good and one for the bad plums. In this way I know that 
many of the insects are destroyed, and it makes it much nicer picking when the 
bad plums are cleaned out from under the trees. We never pick otf the trees, 
but always shake them lightly before beginning to pick up. I do n't spray any, 
and my plums, as a rule, are as free from marks of insects as any fruit I ever 
saw grow; and I firmly believe that the surest way to success in plum raising is: 
First, to plant your trees all in one place; second, plant a sufficient number of 
trees, so that the enemy of the plum within reach of your grove cannot destroy all 
of your fruit; third, when your trees begin to bear, look after the refuse plums 
just as carefully as the good, and you will succeed. 

I have -iOO trees —200 not yet in bearing; they are twelve feet apart in the 
rows, but if I would start another grove I would plant far enough apart so as to 



64 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

drive through with a mowing-machine. I cannot cultivate my older trees any 
more. I have to mow the weeds with a scythe, and I always have a good crop of 
them. I mow but once in a season, when we want to commence to pick the 
plums. My opinion of the profitableness of plum raising is good. I had 130 
bushels last year, which sold for Sl-25 per bushel ; could have sold as many more 
if I had had them. Many people will not xjlant trees because they have jjlanted 
a few and cannot raise any, and think to plant — say fifty trees — is too costly an 
investment with nothing in sight. And again, many of our " hogs-and-corn " 
Kansans would not be willing to humble themselves; get down on their knees 
and crawl around under the trees and pick the fruit off the ground, like we have 
to, but let them go to waste even after having raised them. 

Geo. A. Wi.se, Reservk, Brown county. I have twenty plum trees in bear- 
ing which have been planted five years: they are Wild Goose, Golden Beauty, 
and Miner: Wild Goose is the best bearer. My soil is black loam, on a high 
level. I plant from ten to fifteen feet apart, but think it too close. Have no 
regular system of gathering the fruit; have never sold any. They usually bring 
from one to three dollars per bushel. Have never grown, budded or grafted my 
own trees. If fjlanting over, I would set out Wild Goose, and some other varie- 
ties, twenty feet apart each way, and set them deeply. My neighbors grow 
plums, but not extensively. I consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 

J. B. Saxe, Fort Scott, Bourbon county. I have 100 plum trees in bear- 
ing, planted from eig'ht to ten years; they are Wild Goose, Miner, Bradshaw, 
Weaver, etc. The best bearer is Wild Goose. Of the Japanese varieties I have 
tried Abundance. Those doing best for me are Wild Goose and Miner. My soil 
is clay, nearly level. I have grown, budded and grafted my own trees. If plant- 
ing over, I would put out only a half-dozen Wild Goose for my own use. My 
neighbors grow plums, but not extensively. Do not consider them a good pay- 
ing crop in this locality. 

S. F. Garrison, El Dorado, Butler county. I have twenty plum trees in 
bearing, planted twelve and fourteen years. They are Wild Goose, Seedling 
Goose, Miner, several wild varieties, Wyandotte, Damson, and Marianna. The 
wild varieties are the best bearers. My soil is upland, sloping to the east. Plant 
the trees 10x15 feet. Gather the fruit from July to September; sell at El Do- 
rado, receiving $1.50 per bushel. If planting over, I would set out Wild Goose, 
Miner, and Damson. My neighbors are not growing plums. I do not consider 
them a good paying crop in this locality. The insects are very troublesome. 

Dick May, Elk, Chase county. I have Wild Goose and Sand-hill plum 
trees, eight years planted; the Sand-hill is the best bearer in this locality. My 
soil is sandy bottom, sloping to the east. Plant eight feet apart; use the fruit 
at home. I have tried several wild varieties, and found them excellent. Have 
never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If planting over, I would put 
out the varieties I am now growing. My neighbors grow plums. I consider it a 
good paying fruit in this locality. 

Jere. Ellex.son, Chautauqua, Chautauqua county. I have twenty-five 
plum trees in bearing, planted from fifteen to twenty years; they are Wild Goose, 
Washington, and Chickasaw. The best bearer is the Wild Goose, but the Wash- 
ington is a close second. Washington is best for market. My soil is sandy, with 
clay subsoil, sloping to the south ; plant 16^ feet apart, and gather the fruit when 
it begins to turn red. Sell in the orchard, at one dollar per bushel. Have tried 
one wild variety, and found it worthless. Have never grown, budded or grafted 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 65 

my own trees. If planting over, I would put out the varieties I now have, and 
some other good ones. My neighbors grow very limited quantities of plums. Do 
not consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 

S. H. Domoiiy, Aurora, Cloud county. Have no plum trees in bearing. 
My soil is limestone. Would plant twelve feet apart, in blocks. Have tried some 
wild plums, but find them no good for bearing. Have never grown, budded or 
grafted my own trees. If I were planting, I would put out Abundance, Burbank, 
Red June, and Wickson. My neighbors grow a few plums. I consider them a 
good paying crop in this locality. 

Mrs. E. O. Beavers, Ottumwa, Coffey county. Have twelve plum trees 
in bearing ; they are mostly Wild Goose. Have tried other varieties ; they were 
not a success. I find Wild Goose to be the best bearer. My soil is a black loam, 
sloping to the south. Plant twenty feet apart. Market the fruit in baskets; sell 
at home, receiving from fifty cents to one dollar. Have never grown, budded or 
grafted my own trees. I did not plant for market, but find ready sale for surplus. 
I would consider them a fairly good paying crop in this locality. Neighbors grow 
a few. 

J. H. Bilsiiig", Udall, Cowley county. I have forty plum trees in bearing, 
planted five years. I have not heretofore grown many plums, as I feared the 
curculio, but as the Japs, were said to be curculio proof, I have tried them. I 
planted Burbank, Botan, Ogan, Satsuma, Chabot, Wickson, and Kelsey. The 
first year they came into bearing the curculio did not attack them but little, and 
I thought "now I am all right and can grow plums," but, alas for bright pros- 
pects and pleasant anticipations, I find the Japs, succumb as well as all others. 
During the past two seasons I jarred the trees, but in spite of that they got in 
their work, and a large per cent, were worthless. I have picked up the fallen 
fruit above the size of cherries once or twice per week. The Burbank, I find, 
rots badly on the tree, caused, I presume, by the worm inside, but when the rot 
starts, it takes the entire cluster. I find the best bearers are Burbank, Botan, 
Ogan, Chabot, and Satsuma. My soil is loam, intermixed with sand, and is 
level. Planted my trees twelve feet apart. I have tried one wild variety, and 
found it excellent. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If plant- 
ing over, I would set out the varieties I am now growing, and also Moore's 
xVrctic and Blue Damson. Neighbors are growing only a few plums. I think 
they would pay if we could rout the curculio. 

J. H. Sayles, Norcatur, Decatur county. I have twelve plum trees in 
bearing which were planted in 1890; all are dying. I am discouraged with plums. 
Of the Japanese varieties, I have tried Abundance, Botan, Primus simnnii, and 
a few others; leaf-rollers destroy the leaves every year. My soil is prairie land 
sloping to the northeast. Planted my trees 16 x 20 feet. Have tried some wild 
varieties and found them excellent. Have never grown, budded or grafted my 
own trees. I am a novice with plums. My neighbors do not grow plums, and I 
do not consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 

P. Wag'iier, Dresden, Decatur county. I have 200 wild plum trees, 
planted this year. [This shows faith.] 

Jaiues Duiilap, Detroit, Dickinson county. I have about thirty plum 
trees in bearing which have been planted ten years; they are very similar to the 
Wild Goose, but later; got the sprouts from a neighbor who called them Peach 
plum, but do n't know where he obtained them. I also have a grove of the com- 
mon wild creek plum, all of which do well. My soil is a black loam sloping 
—5 



66 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

toward the east. I plant twelve feet apart. Usually get one dollar per bushel; 
last year buyers gathered them themselves. I have never grown, grafted or bud- 
ded my own trees. If I had it to do all over again, I would plant the same as I 
have now and the Wild Goose and Marianna. My neighbors do not grow plums. 
I consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 

A. H. Griesa, Lawrence, Douglas county. The plum for the whole Mis- 
sissippi Valley is one of the minor fruits of commerce, but comparatively few 
kinds are successfully grown there, while in most of Europe it is of large im- 
portance; besides for home consumption, it is largely grown for export and dry- 
ing. The varieties there are the clo)ne)<(lcn or European type. Most all the 
kinds there grown are the same as have been for many years. In the eastern and 
northern parts of the United States it is grown to a considerable extent. But 
the greatest success lies to the west of us. West of a line drawn north and 
south near Hutchinson, Kan., you may begin the planting of any of the do- 
mPHtica class with reasonable hope of success ; as you proceed to the higher and 
dry regions of the valley success is sure every year. I have never seen better 
plums grow in any place than in Garden City, Kan. They are comparatively 
near the markets and have the climate to dry them the same as in Arizona and 
California. This may lead some one to ask. Why can they be grown there and 
not east ? The trees grow in both sections, blossom, and set fruit, but in the east 
it rots, caused by a fungus disease that seems to develop best in the hot and 
moist climate of the Mississippi valley, and does not develop at all in the higher 
and dryer regions of the western half of this state and the country beyond, nor 
in the high lands of Texas, where plums are now largely grown. 

The trees are hardy and well adapted to most any part of the country ; they 
will blossom and set fruit, but during the hot, moist days of the summer, before 
they ripen, this fungus destroys them. Most of the European kinds are not suited 
to this great valley; only the Damson and Lombard seem to be fairly reliable. 
Here our main reliance should be on the American and Japan kinds. The best 
varieties of- these classes are often grown anywhere in a small way to a good 
profit. The American kinds are the most hardy in tree for this region. Of these, 
the Wild Goose is the standard, and, with the Pottawatomie, Stoddard, Whitta- 
ker, and many others, are the more largely grown. These kinds are not regular 
bearers; the seasons, insects and other causes prevent or make the crop. The 
trees are not often planted for orchards, but are more generally grown in the yard, 
fence corners, or chicken lots, and the product is as so much gain for the family 
use, or market, if in surplus. No fruit will retain the natural flavor better than 
the plum when canned; its richest qualities are then brought forth; for this 
reason it is advisable that every man with room enough should plant at least one 
plum tree as a duty to his family. The trees are very productive, with a great 
limit in season of ripening. Before this nation began the expansion policy the 
horticulturists began to expand, and brought new types of fruit from the ends of 
the earth, as from Russia, China, Japan, Persia, and other countries. Apropos 
to this, we had great things in plums from Japan, China, and Turkey; not that 
the kinds from there seemed adapted to our wants alone, but those kinds seemed 
especially good as a parent, with our more hardy native sorts, to produce a race 
of cross-breeds or hybrids that promise more than we as yet have recognized pos- 
sible. 

The Prunus simonii, from Turkey and Persia, is of no value to the Missis- 
sippi valley, but is one of the parents of several promising kinds. So many of 
the pwre Japans, with unspeakable names, have [caused] more new crosses or 
hybrids than all those imported, not one-fourth of which are yet known among 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 67 

fruit-growers. Among them are the best improved kinds for dried prunes from 
the Pacific; so much better than the old foreign kinds; a result of crossing. The 
Abundance and Bvirbank are the best known of that large and new class; their 
large size, great productiveness, bright color and good quality make them a fa- 
vorite with the public. 

A few words as to culture. They can be planted closely in the back yard, 
where the soil is packed firmly, and in places where the poultry have free range 
to destroy the insects. The trees can be jarred after the blossoms fall, to let the 
insects, the curculio, drop on a sheet, which should be previously spread under 
the tree; then they can be destroyed. In doing this you not only destroy them, 
but their [prospective] increase, and if persevered in you will capture all in a few 
efiforbs. This applies more to how they are grown than how they ought to be. 
Where they are grown extensively they should receive good culture and correct 
care. These lines are not to instruct such cultivators, as they are able to give us 
pointers on that topic. But plums can be grown, of the best American and 
Japan kinds and their hybrids, in a paying way in all this Mississippi valley. In 
favored localities some of the European kinds do well. Every one with even a 
small lot can have a few trees of select kinds and enjoy the blessings of this choice 
fruit, with many chances for yet better kinds in the future. As a help to deter- 
mine the classes, I will give a list of the more prominent kinds of each, beginning 
with the oldest in our cultivation. 

Domesticas. — Lombard (cling and free), Damson, Red and Yellow Gage, Red 
and Yellow Egg, Quakenboss, General Hand, Washington, Coe's Golden Drop, 
Fellenburg, Niagara, Moore's Arctic, German or French Prunes. These are the 
leading kinds grown East and West. 

Americans. — Wild Goose, Miner, Pottawatomie, Newman, Caddo Chief, Stod- 
dard, Whitaker, Hawkeye, and Forest Garden. These are familiar kinds in cul- 
tivation in the Mississippi valley. 

Japans. — Abundance, Burbank, Kelsey, Satsuma, Botan, Red June, Red 
Negate, Chabot, and Norman. These are the best known Japans. 

Hybrids. — Wickson, Climax, Gold, Gonzales, America, Apple, Bartlett, Chalco, 
Juicy, Ruby and Shiro are some of this interesting class. 

This divides them into but four groups, which is enough for our considera- 
tion. The hybrids are mostly from Luther Burbank, of California, but there are 
also some from Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, and other states : so the possi- 
bility of growing acclimated kinds here is within our reach and privilege. Hy- 
bridizing is largely done by natural process; when trees of two races are planted 
near each other, nature, by insects or wind, carries the pollen from one to the 
other, and from the resultant seed is possible the new kind you are looking for, 
to make plum culture in this valley, and elsewhere, a success. Of course there 
is a way of transferring the pollen by hand, but it requires patience, skill, and 
perseverance, while in the former way it is done just as well and effectually. 

J. AV. Sonier, Wilson, Ellsworth county. I have several plum trees in 
bearing, planted five years. The varieties are Wild Goose and Marianna. The 
Wild Goose is the best bearer. My soil is a loamy clay, with a northwest aspect. 
I plant eight feet apart. If I were doing it all over again, I would plant the two 
varieties mentioned above, and would plant the Wild Goose in clusters. Plums 
have not received much attention in this county, but I believe, if they did, they 
would be a paying crop. 

William Cutter, Junction City, Geary county. There is no fruit-tree 
that is so universally neglected as the plum, and the fact that poultry will de- 



68 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

stroy so many of the worst insect enemies of the plum is one of the principal 
causes of this neglect. For, in order to avail themselves of their valuable assist- 
ance, nine-tenths of the farmers and fruit-growers plant their plums in the back 
yard, in zig-zag rows, and the now recommended clumps and clusters, as near as 
possible to the chicken-house and other buildings, so that to cultivate with a 
horse is seldom attempted, and the hoe and scythe are about the only tools that 
can be used in their cultivation, and in a very few years the sprouts take full 
possession and defy the use of even the hoe and scythe, and the promising young 
orchard becomes one of the familiar plum thickets seen upon nearly every farm. 
These trees soon become so thick that they bear little fruit and that only upon 
the very tops of the trees, and in unfavorable years they bear nothing. The only 
way to prevent this sprouting is to plant trees budded upon peach, apricot or 
Marianna stocks, and then, if you plant them deeper than where the bud was in- 
serted, you will have the sprouts about the same as if they had been grown from 
sprouts themselves. I believe that frequent cultivation will produce better crops 
than chickens; but, where possible, by all means use both. My most successful 
trees are in an enclosed chicken yard, and they are budded upon the peach. The 
most suitable soil, from my experience and observations, I would say is a sandy 
soil for our native or American varieties, with a clay subsoil for our old European 
sorts, and if there is any soil suitable for the Japanese and their offspring in ^/;/.s 
Uititudc I have never seen it tried. Of varieties, the natives are the most profit- 
able, and the De Soto we desire above all others. The Pottawatomie is the best 
bearer, but too small. The Wild Goose and Robinson are all reliable and good. 
The Lombard is as reliable as any of the European sorts, excejjting the Damson, 
and that is so easily affected by a dry spell that it is often a failure. 

J. P. Emery, Cimarron, Gray county. I have fifteen plum trees in bear- 
ing; been planted four years; they are Wild Goose, Lombard, and Damson. 
Wild Goose has been the best bearer; the others are just coming into bearing 
this year. My soil is a black loam, sloping to the south; I plant fifteen feet 
apart. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If planting over 
again, would put out the varieties I am now growing. My neighbors grow plums ; 
I think them a good paying crop in this locality. 

D. D. White, Enon, Harper county. I have ten plum trees in bearing, 
which have been planted twelve years; they are Wild Goose and Chickasaw; of 
these. Wild Goose is the best bearer. My soil is level, sandy loam. Gather the 
fruit when ripe. Use most of it at home, but what little I have sold I received 
fifty cents a bushel for. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. 
JMy neighVjors grow plums; they [wild] are too plentiful to pay in this locality. 

Joliii Bailey, Harper, Harper county. I have 100 plum trees in bearing 
planted six years ; they are Wild Goose and Miner ; one is as good a bearer as 
the other. Have never tried Japanese varieties. My soil is a level, black, 
sandy loam. Have planted some ten feet and some twenty-five feet apart. 
Market the fruit in bulk in Harper. They bring from 50 cents to $2.25 per. 
bushel. Have never tried any wild varieties. I consider it a good paying crop 
my neighbors are growing several varieties. 

F. AV. Dixoii, HoLTON, Jackson county. We have 500 plum trees, and can 
say from experience that they are the poorest paying fruit crop we have. In ten 
years we have not had a full crop on any but the Abundance. Wild Goose is 
very uncertain; even if a good crop of plums set, a heavy wind-storm before 
ripening puts your plums all on the ground. Miner seems to be a shy bearer, 
but an excellent tree, and fruit is prime for butters, etc. De Soto is the best 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 69 

bearer of any native sort, but the tree is a poor grower, but it is probable our soil 
is not adapted to it. Marianna sometimes bears a full crop of small, poor- flavored 
plums; it is a rampant grower, but short lived, and is troubled with borers. 
Weaver is a very good plum, but shy bearer. Saratoga fruits for first time this 
year, and promises well at this time; we have several others, but as they are so 
unprofitable we take no pains to keep up with their names. Of the Japan 
varieties, Abundance has paid us; fruit large, but must be picked before it 
colors, as it rots badly ; is ripe when a faint blush appears on it, and is far superior 
to any native plum for canning, preserving, etc. Burbank rots much worse than 
.Abundance, and the fruit is of poor flavor. Plum trees generally were much 
damaged by the cold of February, 1899, and we think most trees will soon die, 

F. L. Osborne, Soldier, Jackson county. I have eight plum trees in bear- 
ing, planted five years ago. They are Wild Goose and Marianna ; the latter bears 
best for me. My soil is a black loam with a northern slope. Plant trees fifteen 
feet apart. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. My neighbors 
grow plums on a small scale. 

J. W. Williams, Holton, Jackson county. I have five plum trees in bear- 
ing, planted from two to ten years, four of which are Blue Damson, and one Jap- 
anese planted two years ago. It has plums on this year and they are fine. The 
Blue Damson does best for me. My soil is upland prairie, underlaid with hard- 
pan, sloping towards the southwest. I plant from twenty-five to thirty feet apart. 
Never sell in the market. Have tried several wild varieties ; only one ever fruited, 
but it sprouted so badly I dug them all up. Have never grafted or budded my 
own trees. Some of my neighbors grow plums successfully. 

H. S. Cutter, South Cedar, Jackson county. In the spring of 1889 I set 
out sixty plum trees of the following varieties: Thirty-five Wild Goose, ten Pot- 
tawatomie, five Lombard, five Pruirus simoirii. The ground was plowed in the 
fall of 1888, and the trees set in the spring of 1889, sixteen feet apart each way. 
Holes were dug for the trees just large enough and deep enough to set them in 
about the same depth they had grown in the nursery. The trees were "plum 
on plum," as the nurseries style it, and I find them more durable than those 
grafted on peach roots, as they are not so liable to be broken off by the wind. 
The plum on peach grows so vigorously that they are very brittle, and in a 
high wind are apt to break off just above the ground. I lost about one-half 
of one plum orchard in that 'way, while of those grafted on plum roots not one 
was blown off. The first crop of fruit gathered from the plum orchard set in 
1889 was in 1891:. The trees were white with bloom in the spring of 1893, but 
they did not set any fruit until 1891, when a fair crop was gathered from the 
Wild Goose, Lombard, and Pottawatomie. These three varieties have born 
crops of fruit every year since. During the year 1897 they yielded the finest lot 
of fruit I ever beheld. From two of the finest Wild Goose trees we picked 
twelve bushels of fine fruit. The fruit was picked and sold in the common half 
bushel baskets. The first picking brought one dollar per basket, later seventy- 
five cents, and the last sixty-five cents a basket. Of the above three varieties, 
the Wild Goose stands first in productiveness and market value, Lombard sec- 
ond, and Pottawatomie third. Of the other varieties, the Prunvs simonii never 
bore a plum, and the trees are now all dead. Kelsey's Japan has born a very 
few plums, and the trees are nearly all dead. I intend to set out several plum 
trees this spring, and they will be "plum on plum" — Wild Goose, Lombard, and 
Damson. I have seen the Blue Damson bearing heavy crops of choice fruit in 
this county, and I will try what they will do for me. I never sprayed the trees. 



70 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

and have not had wormy fruit. The poultry-house and yard was near the 
orchard, and that may be the reason why the fruit was free from worms. 

E. M. Gray, Perry, Jefferson county. In 1890 I planted an orchard of 300 
plum trees, consisting of Wild Goose, Burbank, Abundance, Wickson, Red June, 
Weaver, Green Gage, and Blue Damson. The three first named did best for me 
on high, dry or well drained upland. I got no plums unless by clean cultivation. 
I found when I did not keep the ground clean of weeds or grass, my plums, just 
before ripening, rotted on the trees. I spray with Paris green and lime, I sell 
in berry crates at $1.50 per crate for choice, and $1 per crate for No. 2. 

E. P. Dielil, Olathe, Johnson county. I have thirty plum trees in bear- 
ing, planted from ten to thirty years. The varieties are Washington, Damson, 
Blue Gage, Wild Goose, Miner, and Chickasaw. Of these, the best bearers are 
Wild Goose, Miner, and Chickasaw. My soil is a black loam, sloping towards the 
north. Plant my trees sixteen feet apart, gather when ripe, and market in 
one-third-bushel baskets; sell in Olathe. They usually bring from sixty cents 
to one dollar per bushel. The Chickasaw is the only wild variety I have 
tried. I have grown, budded and grafted my own trees. If I were beginning 
again, I would plant Wild Goose, Miner, Damson, and Chickasaw. My neighbors 
grow very few plums. I consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 

J. C. Beckley, Spring Hill, Johnson county. I have fifteen plum trees 
in bearing, which have been planted from eight to ten years. They are Wild 
Goose, Weaver, and German Prune. The Weaver and German Prune are the 
best bearers. Of the Japanese varieties I have tried Abundance, which does very 
well, but is a little- tender. It froze during the winter of 1898-'99. My soil is 
dark mulatto, sloping to the west. I plant two-year- old trees, fourteen feet apart. 
Gather in [grape?] baskets; sell at Spring Hill, receiving twenty-five cents per 
basket for them. I have tried several wild varieties and found them excellent, 
and don't know but that they are as good as domesticated varieties.. Have 
grown, budded and grafted mj' own trees. If planting over, I would set out 
Wild Goose, Weaver, Miner, Lombard and Damson sixteen feet apart in an or- 
chard, giving good cultivation for four or five years; then keep clean surface un- 
der the trees to prevent insects from harboring there. Would treat about the 
same as cherry trees. My neighbors grow a few plums. I consider them a good 
paying crop in this locality. 

J. C. Beckley, Spring Hill, Johnson county. This desirable fruit has 
not been as extensively jjlanted in the state as it ought to have been, because of 
the damaging attacks of both the curculio and gouger (worms in the fruit ), yet some 
facts have been gathered from the observations and experience of planters which 
encourage the hope that reasonable success may attend future efforts in their 
culture. Two classes have been used, viz.: Those of foreign origin and their off- 
spring, and those of native origin, which differ much in character. The trees of 
the foreign class are not so hardy, productive or long-lived as our natives, and, 
while the fruit is vastly superior, their planting cannot be advised for extensive 
orchards. There are some of the native class which are quite successful, and of 
which it is quite safe to plant; the trees are hardy and produce crops of good 
fruit, which is less injured by the curculio and plum-gouger. Spring is undoubt- 
edly the best time for planting, and those planters who live within reasonable 
distance of a reliable nursery had better obtain the trees in the spring, as there 
is too much loss in most cases, when procured in the autumn and heeled in, by 
mice, rabbits, dry freezing, and shriveling from becoming too dry during winter. 
The plum tree does best where planted closely; twelve to fifteen feet is usually 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 71 

recommended; but my experience and observation teach me that they should 
be planted closer than that, say eight to ten feet. Why ? Becnuse we almost 
invariably find our native wild plums growing in clumps, in order that those 
weak in the fertilizing elements [pollen] will be benefited by the stronger [more 
potent] ones. I am satisfied that is the reason why some plum trees which are 
set too far apart bear little, if at all. 

Elevation is not a very important point in the culture of the jjlum, only as it 
often furnishes the most desirable soil, which I think is more generally found in 
the bottom lands. The plum likes a northern slope best, for the reason that it 
loves damp, cool, moist, not wet, ground to grow in ; the foreign class requires a 
rich, moist soil, underlaid with a stiff clay, and does better on upland; therefore 
they are short-lived, as are all plum trees planted on high prairie land. The na- 
tive class thrives best on a sandy soil, which is largely found on bottom land, and 
such locations generally produce abundant crops. Good drainage is a very im- 
portant factor in regard to the health of a plum tree. Where there is no natural 
windbreak one should be provided, as by nature it is almost invariably required. 
In all cases the plum does best when worked on its own roots, although they 
can be worked on the peach, but should be set deep to secure rooting from the 
scion or bud, as the case may be ; in planting, the roots should be wet. Some 
foreign sorts that I budded on the peach are doing fine. I would not recommend 
mulching, as it makes a harbor for injurious insects. Close planting is preferable) 
as it keeps the ground shaded, and therefore cool and moist, beneficial both to 
the tree and to retard, to some extent at least, the development of insects. Cul- 
tivation should be shallow at all times, and none after they shade the ground 
thoroughly. Pick before fully ripe, and, as they ripen unevenly, the trees will 
have to be gone over several times. Pack in small baskets (I use small grape 
baskets), which are more suitable than boxes, and will not bruise the fruit as 
much; put only good, sound fruit in the baskets, and feed all that is wormy and 
faulty to the hogs. There has never been enough grown for the home market in 
Kansas yet. They should be handled about the same as cherries and peaches. 

C. H. Long'stretli, Lakin, Kearny county. I have 200 plum trees in bear- 
ing, which have been planted ten years. The varieties are Wild Goose, Robinson, 
Pottawatomie, Forest Rose, Weaver, Miner, Coe's Golden Drop, Newman, Abun- 
dance, Burbank, Bailey, and a few others. Of these, the best bearers are Wild 
Goose and Robinson. Pottawatomie is nearly as good. Of the Japanese varie- 
ties, I have tried Abundance, Burbank, Bailey, Munson, and Satsuma. The Jap- 
anese varieties have not given me satisfaction so far; Wild Goose and Robinson 
are preferred to all others. My soil is a deep, sandy loam, nearly level. I plant 
one-year-old trees in early spring, twelve feet apart, mixing varieties all together, 
in order to pollenize well. Gather by hand, picking before too ripe, while still 
hard; market in one-third-bushel peach crates, packed solid and firm; sell a few 
at home, but in Denver as a rule, selling from 60 cents to $1.25 per crate, netting 
us on the average, one dollar per bushel. Have tried a few wild varieties, but 
found only few good; most of them are worthless and unsatisfactory. Have 
grown, grafted and budded my own trees. If planting over, I would put out Wild 
Goose and Robinson for commercial purposes and no others, excepting a few Jap- 
anese and other varieties for experiment. My neighbors are growing plums. I con- 
sider them a good paying crop in this locality when properly grown and handled. 

R. DeGarnio, Oswego, Labette county. The plum is one of the most valu- 
able and perhaps one of the most salable of the stone fruits raised in this county, 
seldom failing to make a paying crop, although raised mostly for home consump- 



72 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

tion, and not planted in commercial orchards. The most valuable of the kinds 
raised here are of the native variety, such as the Wild Goose, Miner, Weaver, and 
all of the Chickasaw varieties, while the foreign varieties that have been grown 
here do not seem adapted to this climate and soil, and have not so far paid for 
planting and cultivation. I will here give some of my own experience in raising 
plums, and then I will speak by the book. Some eight years ago I planted here, for 
family use, the following list of plum and apricot trees: Of Japanese varieties, 
the Abundance, Satsuma, Burbank, Primus aunoiiii, and Botan: of the native 
varieties, the Draper, Wild Goose, Wolf, and Blue Damson, and two varieties of 
the White Chickasaw. Now for the results: Of the Japanese, all are dead but 
the Abundance, which, in the eight years, have had one full crop, and they were 
badly injured last winter, two being killed outright — the others recovered, and 
are now full of buds in good condition. The plum we think the most of is the 
small White Chickasaw, which has so far never failed to bear a good crop 
since large enough to bear. This plum is rather small, yellowish-white, very 
sweet, with small yjit, skin hard and solid, and troubled but little with the cur- 
culio. The Abundance is a fine, large plum, bears when young very freely: the 
skin is rather soft and much more liable to the attack of the curculio than the 
Wild Goose and Chickasaw. 

Geo. Hildretli, Altamont, Labette county. I have twenty plum trees in 
bearing, planted ten and twenty-five years. They are W^ild Goose, Chickasaw, 
and common wild. Of these, the wild and Wild Goose are the best bearers. 
Have tried Japanese varieties, but found them unsuccessful. My soil is black 
limestone, sloping towards the west. I plant from twelve to twenty feet apart. 
Gather as soon as ripe and generally use the crop at home. I have tried several 
wild varieties and find them excellent for butter and canning. Have never 
grown, grafted or budded my own trees. If I were doing it all over again, I 
would plant the Wild Goose and some wild varieties. There are some other 
varieties that have done well for a while, but they perished soon. My neighbors 
grow some plums for home use and a few to sell. I consider them a good paying 
crop in this locality. 

N. Saiiford, Oswego, Labette county. I have ten pkim trees in bearing, 
some planted less than a year and some fifteen years. They are Small Damson, 
Wild Goose, and Red Chickasaw. Small Damsons have been the most profitable 
aod the best bearers, but are not likely to last over twelve to fifteen years. I am 
of the ojjinion the plums will not do on our black limestone soil, which is al- 
most level. I market my fruit, which usually brings $1.50 per bushel, at home. 
I have never tried wild varieties. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own 
trees. If I were planting over again, I would plant only the Small Damson. My 
neighbors do not grow plums successfully. I do not consider it a good paying 
crop in this locality. 

D. E. Bradstreet, Dighton, Lane county. I have twelve plum trees. 
They are Marianna, Wild Goose, and Damson. The best bearer is the Marianna. 
My land is a dark loam bottom land, level. I plant three in a cluster, clusters 
seven feet apart [a new idea]. Gather the fruit when ripe. Have never grown, 
grafted or budded my own trees. If planting over, I would set the trees [clus- 
ters ?] ten feet apart. My neighbors grow a few. I do not consider them a good 
paying crop in this locality. 

Dr. J. Stayniuii, Leavenworth, Leavenworth county. It is with some 
degree of reluctance that I offer a paper upon the plum and prune for your forth- 
coming pamphlet, not from want of experience, but that I have little to offer of 



THE TLUM IN KANSAS. 73 

benefit to the public. Forty years ago I planted out twenty-five plum trees here, 
including Quackenboss, Blue Gage, Bavay, Green Gage, Bingham, McLaughlin, 
Lombard, Purple Egg, Richmond, Washington, and German Prune; a few years 
later I set out eighty-five more, including Purple Gage, Jefferson, Smith's Or- 
leans, Imperial Gage, St. Lawrence, Green Gage, and Shropshire' Damson. 
These have all proven unsatisfactory. My best success has been with the Ameri- 
can species and varieties, and some of these have been failures; of about twenty- 
five varieties, the following have proven valuable: Miner, Quaker, Wild Goose, 
Godard, and Damson ; I am now trying De Soto, Wolf, Wyant, Foster, Ross, and 
Klondike ; these are all natives of Iowa or seedlings of such. The Forest Garden, 
of Iowa, is worthless here, and the Kickapoo, of Kansas, where it can be grown, is 
the largest and the best; perhaps no other native plum is so good, but it rots 
badly. Our only hope, in this climate, of growing varieties equal to the Euro- 
pean, is by crossing the best American varieties with the Japanese. Seedlings 
from such crosses ought to succeed here. 

W. 31. Fleliarty, La Cygne, Linn county. Have twenty-five plum trees in 
bearing, planted four years; they are Pottawatomie, Abundance, Wild Goose, 
and Burbank. The Pottawatomie and Abundance I find to be the bearers. My 
soil is black alluvial, sloping to the east. Plant trees twenty feet apart. Have 
never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. My neighbors grow plums, and 
I consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 

D. C. Ov^erly, Hartford, Lyon county. I have 1100 plum trees in bearing 
which have been planted four years; they are Gold, Red June, Lombard, Orient, 
Blue Damson, Abundance, Spaulding, Marianna, and Wild Goose. They were 
frozen three nights in succession this spring while in blossom. My soil is black 
loam, sloping to the east. Planted my trees twelve by eighteen feet. Have never 
grown, budded or grafted my own trees. My neighbors do not grow plums. I 
consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 

James McNicol, Lost Springs, Marion county. I have' 100 plum trees, 

planted in 1886 and later. They are Wild Goose, Miner, Wolf, Lombard, German 

Prune, Marianna, Pottawatomie, Abundance, Burbank, Willard, and Satsuma. 

Of these, the Burbank, Abundance, Marianna, Pottawatomie and Wild Goose are 

best bearers. Of Japanese, those doing best for me are the Abundance. The 

Burbank is more prolific, but rots on the tree. My soil is a black clay loam, 

sloping to the north and west. I plant eighteen and twenty feet apart. Market 

in ten-pound baskets. Sell at home, receiving from thirty to forty cents per 

basket. I have tried several varieties of wild plums, but found none to be as 

good as W^ild Goose or Abundance. If I were beginning over, would plant 

Abundance and Burbank. I consider them well worth planting and taking 
care of. 

W. G. Stockard, Beloit, Mitchell county. I have fifty plum trees in 
bearing, planted in 1881 and 1888. They are Wild Goose, Marianna, Imperial 
Gage, Burbank, Weaver, Ogon, Miner, and Sand plum. Those doing best for me 
are. the Imijerial Gage and Marianna. My soil is upland prairie, sloping to the 
north. Plant from sixteen to twenty feet. Sell the fruit in Beloit at one dollar 
per bushel. Have grown, budded and grafted my own trees. If planting again, 
would put out the Imperial Gage and Marianna. My neighbors grow plums, but 
I hardly consider them a paying crop in this locality. 

J. T. Barnes, Beloit, Mitchell county. I have 100 plum trees which have 
been planted from four to ten years. They are Wild Goose, Marianna, Pottawa- 
tomie, Robinson, Miner, Golden Beauty, Weaver, Wolf, Mito, Vanity, and two 



74 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

unknown varieties. Of these, the best bearers are Wild Goose, Marianna, Potta- 
watomie, Robinson, Weaver, Mito, Vanity, and both of the unknown varieties. 
Of the Japanese varieties, I have tried Abundance, Burbank, Chabot, Kelsey, 
Red June, Willard, Wickson, Satsuma, Beekman, and Normand. Those doing 
best are. Burbank, Abundance, Chabot, and Red June. The Kelseys were 
killed by the cold winter of 1898-'99; the Beekman, Normand and Wickson were 
frozen to the ground; the Satsuma never lives over one year. My soil is a 
sandy loam, river bottom, sloping towards the southeast, I plant my trees in 
rows from fifteen to twenty feet apart and fifteen feet in the row. Gather the 
fruit by hand a few days before fully ripe, and market at home; in Beloit they 
usually bring from $1.50 to $2.50 per bushel. Have tried one kind of wild plums ; 
this spring I put out a few Sand plums sent me from the West; have grafted the 
Weaver plum. If I had it to do all over again, I would plant the Wild Goose, 
Pottawatomie, Marianna, the wild variety, and Abundance, Burbank, Chabot, 
and Red June, in rows twenty feet apart and trees from sixteen to twenty feet 
apart in the row. My neighbors grow but few plums. 

P. C. Bowen, Cherryvale, Montgomery county. I have forty plum trees 
in bearing, planted from six to ten years ; they are Wild Goose exclusively. Have 
tried several Japanese varieties, but they were a failure. Have also tried Blue 
Damson, Yellow Egg, and German Prune, which bore a few light crops and then 
died. Have discarded all except native varieties. My soil is a dark, sandy loam, 
sloping to the north and west. Planted my trees from eight to fifteen feet apart. 
Pick the fruit when partially ripe, in baskets, and sell by the peck, both at home 
and in Cherryvale, receiving about one dollar per bushel. I find Wild Goose is 
the only kind worth planting here. Have grown, budded and grafted my own 
trees. I use Marianna stock and graft scions in the winter, and plant in nursery 
rows in spring, cultivate, and set in orchard when one and two years old. Have 
used peach stock, but Marianna is best. Would always propagate my own plum 
trees for orchard setting. Some of my neighbors are growing plums. I consider 
native varieties a good paying crop. 

J. C. Koss, Havana, Montgomery county. I have 400 plum trees in bear- 
ing, planted eight years; they are Miner and Wild Goose; the Miner is the best 
bearer. My soil is sandy, having a southern slope. Plant rn the spring. Gather, 
in July; market in peach baskets, in town. Receive from one to two dollars per 
bushel. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. My neighbors 
grow plums. I consider them a paying crop. 

John E. Sample, Beman, Morris county. I have thirty plum trees in 
bearing which have been planted ten years; they are Wild Goose and Marianna. 
TheWild Goose I find is the best bearer. My soil is black loam, sloping to the south. 
Planted my trees twenty feet apart. Use the fruit at home. I have tried several 
wild varieties, but find them to be no good. Have grown, budded and grafted 
my own trees. If I had to do it all over again, I would set out Wild Goose and 
German Prune ; would graft all stone fruits on seedling apricots so the graft would 
be above ground; this would make them long-lived. Would graft in the winter 
and grow in nursery. My neighbors are growing a few plums. I do not con- 
sider them a good paying crop in this locality. 

fJaiues Sharp, Parkerville, Morris county. I have .300 plum trees in 
bearing, planted ten years; they are Wild Goose, Lombard, Wolf, Pottawatomie, 
Damson, Marianna, Abundance, Satsuma, Burbank, Wickson, Red June, German 
Prune, Washington, Golden Beauty, Robinson, etc. Of Japanese varieties, I 
have tried Satsuma, Burbank, Abundance, Wild Goose, Red June, and Wickson; 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 75 

the Burbank does best for me. My surface soil is a black loam, part with red 
clay subsoil and part with hard, wet subsoil, sloping in all directions. Plant 
ten and twenty feet. Gather in boxes and baskets and market in baskets and 
berry boxes in the local towns, receiving from one to two dollars per bushel. 
I have grown, budded and grafted my own trees. If planting over again, I 
would put out Wild Goose, Lombard, Burbank, and Damson. My neighbors 
are growing the same varieties as I. Do not consider it a good jjaying fruit 
in this locality. Plums should be planted in the chicken yard, or the curculio 
will take the crop every year. 

V. E. Hathaway, Council Grove, Morris county. I have tried the Abun- 
dance, Satsuma and Botan plums, none of which are doing well. My soil is a 
black bottom, about level. I plant fifteen feet apart. The price is so small they 
do not pay. Have tried a good many varieties, and found but one that paid. If 
planting over, I would put out the Wild Goose. My neighbors grow plums in a 
small way. They are not a paying crop in this locality. 

F. B. Harri.s, White City, Morris county. I have fifty plum trees in bear- 
ing, planted twelve years. They are Washington and Jefferson. The Washing- 
ton is the best bearer. My soil is a high, level prairie. I plant twenty feet 
apart. Gather the fruit by hand, and market by the peck or bushel, at Hering- 
ton, usually receiving two dollars per bushel for them. I have tried wild plums, 
but find them poor. If I had it to do over again, I would plant Washington 
and Marianna. My neighbors grow but few plums. I do not consider them a good 
paying crop on account of the curculio. 

C. D. Martindale, Scranton, Osage county. I have thirty plum trees in 
bearing, planted five years ago; they are Wild Goose, Marianna, and Abundance. 
Of these, the Wild Goose is the best bearer; the Marianna is full this year. Abun- 
dance is fairly full. My soil is black loam, with about one foot of gravel, then 
yellow paint clay and gravel, sloping toward the east. I plant fifteen feet apart. 
I gather them before quite ripe, and market in grape baskets; sell at Scranton, 
receiving, usually, two dollars per bushel. I have tried several wild varieties and 
found them excellent; have an early and a late variety that I got out of the tim- 
ber and find they improve the grafted sorts. Have never grown, budded or 
grafted my own trees. If just beginning, I would plant the Wild Goose, Abun- 
dance, and some good wild sorts among them, perhaps every fifth or sixth tree. 
My neighbors grow plums, but not enough for their own use. I do not consider 
them a good paying crop in this locality. 

HoAvard Morton, Tescott, Ottawa county. I have no plum trees in bear- 
ing. I had thirteen Weaver planted in a circle with one in the center, close to- 
gether, about eight feet apart; on a light soil, sloping towards the north; for 
several years they bore abundantly. I would recommend our native varieties 
with a few Japanese mixed in; I consider them a good paying crop in this local- 
ity, with proper care. My neighbors are growing Wild Goose. 

F. T. M. Diitcher, Phillipsburg, Phillips county. I have twelve plum 
trees in bearing, planted from two to six years; they are Wild Goose, Burbank, 
and German Prune. Of these, the Wild Goose is the best bearer. My soil is a 
sandy loam which is nearly level ; I plant sixteen feet apart ; gather them when 
ripe; market at home. Have never tried any wild varieties. Have never grown, 
budded or grafted my own trees. My neighbors do not grow plums : I do not 
consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 



76 THB PLUM IN KANSAS. 

John Hinds, Olcoit, Reno county. The plum doing best for me is the 
Miner. My soil is a black, sandy loam, with an eastern slope. I plant twelve 
feet apart. Gather them the last of August. Sell at home at one dollar per 
bushel. Have grown, budded and grafted my own trees. 

F. A. Smith, Belleville, Republic county. I have fifty plum trees in 
bearing, planted from eight to ten years. They are Forest Rose, Marianna, 
Weaver, and a wild plum from Mitchell county. Of these, the Marianna, Weaver 
and the wild variety are the best bearers. My soil is a limestone ridge, sloping 
northwest. I plant the trees eight feet apart. I sell at Belleville, Cuba, and 
Narka, receiving from fifty cents to one dollar per bushel for them — usually 
one dollar. I have tried a wild variety, and find it an excellent, free bearer, 
vigorous, hardy; fruit medium and of good quality. Have never grown, budded 
or grafted my own trees. My neighbors grow but few plums, mostly for home 
use. I consider them a good paying crop in this vicinity. 

H. C. Hortji'son, Little River, Rice county. I have eight plum trees in 
bearing, planted twelve years. They are the Wild Goose and Miner. The Wild 
(lOose is the best bearer. Of the Japanese varieties, I have Abundance, Bur- 
bank, Willard, and Wickson; cannot say which is best, as they have not com- 
menced to bear; they blossomed this spring, but were killed by frost in 
April. My soil is both upland and bottom. Plant ten feet apart. Have never 
grown, budded or grafted my own trees. Neighbors do not grow many plums. 
I do not consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 

T. C. Wells, Manhattan, Riley county. To raise good plums you need 
good soil, deeply plowed, free from lumps and well drained, either naturally or 
artificially. Plums may be divided into three general classes; the European or 
Golden plum, the Japanese, and the American. It is generally thought that the 
European plum does best on a clay loam, while the American varieties succeed 
better on a more sandy soil, but, from |my experience, I have learned that plums 
of each class will thrive in the common black limestone soil of our Kansas 
prairies. In getting trees for planting, get those with a single main stem ; avoid 
those with forks, as, when loaded with fruit, they are almost sure to split down 
in heavy winds and be ruined. Get thrifty, stocky trees, with low heads, not 
more than two or three feet high. On such trees the fruit is more easily gath- 
ered and they are in less danger of injury from winds. Plant deep, especially if 
grafted on peach roots. About sixteen feet apart each way is a good distance. 
Keep the soil loose and free from weeds, cultivating as deeply as you can without 
injury to the roots. Keep down all sprouts. Many varieties are not self -fertiliz- 
ing ; therefore different varieties blooming at the same time should be planted 
near each other. Prune but little, except to shape the tree at first, and after- 
ward to remove dead or interfering branches. 

If black knot appears, cut it out and burn it, covering the wound with thick 
paint. For other diseases, such as leaf rust, shot-hole fungus, and fruit rot, I 
know of nothing better than thorough spraying with Bordeaux mixture, though 
this is not always entirely successful. I would spray before the buds swell in 
spring, again after the blossoms fall, and again still later in the season, if there are 
any signs of fungus disease. For fruit rot, it is best, besides spraying, to thin the 
fruit so that no two plums touch each other when full grown. This is important. 
Thinning should also be practiced on varieties that do not rot, when they set very 
full; pick off half or two-thirds of the fruit when half grown. What is left will 
be larger and better flavored, and worth more in the market, and the trees will 
live longer. For curculio and gouger, the surest way is to jar the trees early in 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 77 

the morning [which causes them to fall], catching them on sheets and destroying 
them. Begin this work as soon as the blossoms fall, and continue as long as you 
catch any. If this is too much trouble and you think it will not pay, the best thing 
to do is to plant your trees where the chickens will run under them and pick up 
the "little Turks"; also plant plenty of trees, so that there will be fruit enough 
for both the insects and yourself. It is also a very good plan to pick up and burn, 
boil, or otherwise destroy, all wormy and rotten fruit, leaving no insects or fungus 
spores alive. For canker-worms and other leaf-eating insects add Paris green to 
the Bordeaux mixture, and sjjray. If that does not do the work thoroughly, spray 
again in a day or two. Be sure you get a pure article of Paris green. There 
are different grades; some of it is adulterated. The best is cheapest in the 
end. One reason why people do not always succeed in killing canker-worms is 
that they do not begin spraying early enough. The young worms are much 
more susceptible to poison than when they are nearly or quite full grown. 

Most varieties of plums are of better flavor if they remain on the trees until 
fully ripe. For market, however, they must be gathered before they get soft, 
but they should be full grown and pretty well colored. As to varieties suitable 
to the climate and soil of Kansas, I can only judge from my limited experience 
and observation. Of the European varieties, the Lombard and Spaulding are the 
only ones that I have had in bearing. They set plenty of fruit, which is of fair 
quality when ripe, but they are not curculio or rot proof, and in some seasons, in 
spite of spraying or anything that I have done, the amovint of sound, ripe fruit has 
been very small. Of the Japan plums, the Burbank has proved most worthy of 
cultivation. It is of large size and good quality, especially for cooking, and an 
abundant bearer. Indeed, it usually sets so much fruit as to require severe thin- 
ning. The Abundance and Botan are good, but have not been such sure or abun- 
dant bearers as the Burbank. The Ogon seems more hardy than any of the Japan 
plums, but the quality is hardly as good as those mentioned above. It is a good 
bearer. The Satsuma and simonii have been unproductive and unprofitable. Of 
our native American varieties, the following, I think, are worthy of cultivation: 
Wild Goose, Miner, Bluemont, Golden Beauty, and Moreman. The Bluemont 
sometimes rots badly. All need to be thoroughly ripe before they are good to 
eat without cooking. I have found no curculio-proof plum. Besides those men- 
tioned above, the following are grown on the grounds of the Kansas State Agri- 
cultural College and are thought worthy of cultivation — all are American: 
Wyant, Weaver, Wayland, De Soto, Robinson, and Clayton. 

M. E. AVelLs, Smith Center, Smith county. Have fifty plum trees in 
bearing which have been planted seven years; those doing best for me are a wild 
variety; soil is a clay loam, sloping to the east; sandy bottom next to creek is 
best. Plant ten feet apart. Sell at the orchard, receiving one dollar per bushel. 
Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. I would keep a new orchard 
clean for three years, then mulch with straw a foot deep. Neighbors are growing 
a few plums. I consider them a good paying crop in this locality. 

D. M. Adams, Rome, Sumner county. I have a dozen plum trees in bear- 
ing, planted twelve years; they are Marianna and Wild Goose; they are profit- 
able for home use only. My soil is prairie, sloping to the southeast. Have tried 
several wild varieties, and find some to be very good. Have never grown, budded 
or grafted my own trees. If planting over, I would set out the above-named va- 
rieties and the Abundance and German Prune. Neighbors are growing them 
only for home use. 



78 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

A. M. Dull, Washington, Washington county. I have thirty-five plum 
trees in bearing, planted six years: they are Wild Goose, Pottawatomie, Wolf, 
and De Soto. The best bearers are Wild Goose and Pottawatomie. My soil is 
upland prairie, sloping to the north. Planted my trees 10x15 feet. We use all 
the fruit at home. I have tried one wild variety, but found it to be a poor 
bearer. Have never grown, budded or grafted my own trees. If planting over, 
I would set out Wild Goose, Pottawatomie, and perhaps one or two other varie- 
ties; would plant them in a block, and when they come into bearing I would 
fence, and turn in the fchickens, as I think they would destroy the curculio and 
other insects. My neighbors grow a few plums. Do not consider them a good 
paying crop in this locality. 

AV. D. Cellar, Edwardsville, Wyandotte county. I have 1200 plum trees 
in bearing, planted from four to nine years. The varieties are: American class — 
Wild Goose and Miner; Japanese class — Abundance, Burbank, Red June, and 
also a few Damson. The Wild Goose do best for me; of the Japanese varieties 
the Abundance and Burbank are the best bearers. My soil is a hazel bottom, 
with clay subsoil, sloping towards all directions. I plant fifteen feet both ways. 
When gathering I shake them on the ground or on sheets, and market in twenty- 
four-quart crates and one-third-bushel boxes; in Kansas City and towns in Mis- 
souri, Kansas and Colorado they usually bring from 50 cents to $1.50 per crate, 
or 25 to 75 cents per one-third-bushel box. I always grow, bud and graft my 
own trees. If I were going to do it all over again, I would plant as I now grow, 
excepting only a few Miners to fertilize, and none at all of this variety if I could 
find a better fertilizer for Wild Goose. My neighbors grow plums to some ex- 
tent. I consider them a good paying crop. 

F. Holsing'er, Rosedale, W^yandotte county. Of the many varieties tried, 
few have succeeded. Those that give the best — I might say the only satisfac- 
tion — are the Chickasaw varieties; of these, the Pottawatomie stands first, The 
Wild Goose during past few years was among the best. Owing to the attack of 
insect enemies, the curculio and gouger, plum growing has become precarious. 
Of European sorts, I know of none that are worth planting; of Japanese sorts, all 
save one (Gold) have succumbed to the severity of winter; but for the occasional 
severe winters, plum growing would succeed, providing sufficient care was exer- 
cised to fight the insects. Jarring affords best protection — use of sheets upon 
which the curculio and gouger fall when the tree is suddenly jarred; then pick- 
ing them into bottles they are easily destroyed by scalding. Unless you are in- 
tending to follow out the best methods of fighting insects, you will find plum grow- 
ing unsuccessful; for while you may produce this fruit in abundance, it will be 
unsatisfactory and unsalable because of its faulty condition. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 79 



A DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF THE NUMEROUS 
VARIETIES OF PLUMS. 



Aitkin. — Fruit very large, oval, slightly truncate at both ends, suture very 
obscure: skin nearly uniform, deep dark red, without dots, a little paler on shade 
side; flesh rich yellow, rather firm, sweet, moderately rich; skin very thin and 
tender, may be eaten with impunity, and is without harshness when fruit is fully 
ripe; stone large, but remarkably thin, obscurely margined. Leaves broad, with 
glandular stalks. Tree very vigorous ; reported productive. Season very early. 
^Found wild in Aitkin county, Minnesota. Introduced in 1896 by Jewell Nursery 
Company, Lake City, Minn. The reports thus far received from this plum are 
very favorable. 

American Eagle. — Very large ; skin dark purplish-red when fully ripe ; 
form roundish oblong: cling. One of the finest of the group. Leaves rather 
large, the stalks glandular. Introduced by Osceola Nursery Company, Osceola, 
Mo. Good for market. Likely the best amcricana. 

Apple Plum.— From the garden of D. U. Pratt, Chelsea, Mass. Fruit 
medium, roundish flattened, a little swollen on one side, suture medium; skin 
reddish purple, with a blue bloom and light dots: flesh greenish yellow, a little 
coarse, sweet, sprightly, with considerable austerity at the skin ; adheres partially 
to the stone. Good. September. (Downing.) 

Bavay. — Tree grows very strongly, and is one of the hardiest of the domes- 
fica class. Sets some fruit almost every year, but is not sufficiently hardy for 
this situation. It can be grown wherever peaches will bear a crop. The fruit is 
of best quality: season late — September 5 to 15. 

Biiig-liam.— Large (an inch and three-fourths long), oval, rather widest at 
base; surface deep yellow, with rich red spots to the sun: stalk slightly sunk; 
flesh yellow, juicy, rich, delicious. Season of ripening, medium or end of sum- 
mer and first of autumn. Shoots downy. Handsome, productive, and valuable. 
Pennsylvania. (Thomas.) 

Botan.— (See Abundance.) 

Caddo Chief. — Small, round, red; very early. Louisiana. Chickasaw. 
(Thomas.) 

Hawkeye. — Large, round-oblong, purple- red; skin thick; flesh firm; good; 
cling. Mid-season. Iowa. (Thomas.) 

Cheney. — Large to very large, round-oblong; dull purple- red; skin thick; 
flesh firm, sweet, good; cling. Ripens in August. Wisconsin. (Thomas.) 

City. — Large, red on yellow ground, productive; perfect freestone; skin 
thick and bitter: ripens with De Soto; lacks attractive color. Hardy, good 
bearer; sells well in local market. Has withstood frost better than any other. 
More valuable for home use than market. Well reported by all. Minnesota. 

ChickasaAV. — Fruit about three-fourths of an inch in diameter, round, and 
red or yellowish-red, of a pleasant, subacid flavor; ripens pretty early ; skin thin. 



80 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

The branches are thorny, the head rather bushy, with narrow, lanceolate serru- 
late leaves, looking at a little distance somewhat like those of a peach tree. It 
usually grows about twelve or fourteen feet high; but on the prairies of Arkan- 
sas it is only three or four feet high, and in this form it is also common in Texas. 
The Dwarf Texas plum described by Kendrick is only this species. It is quite 
ornamental. (Downing.) 

Climax. — Cross of simonii and Botan; very large, measuring GJxTi inches 
in circumference, heart-shaped; a superbly rich plum, extremely early; ripens 
in the coast counties early in July, before any other good plum; color of flesh 
yellow; sweet and delicious, with a pineapple fragrance; skin thick, firm, deep 
vermillion-red, with very minute white specks; stem short, strong; pit medium 
to large, separates easily from flesh. Tree a vigorous grower, very productive; 
branches and leaves resemble the Heart cherries in size and vigor. This is des- 
tined to become the best shipping plum that has come to my notice. Originated 
by lAither Burbank, of Santa Rosa. 

Damson (Common, Black, Purple, Early, etc.) — The common oval Blue Dam- 
son is almost too well known to need description, as thousands of bushels are 
annually sold in the market for preserves. The tree is enormously productive, 
but in the hands of careless cultivators is liable to be rendered worthless by the 
knots, which are easily extirpated if the diseased branches are regularly burned 
every winter or spring. Branches slender, a little thorny and downy. Fruit 
small, oval, about an inch long. Skin purple, covered with thick blue bloom. 
Flesh melting and juicy, rather tart; separates partially from the stone. Septem- 
ber. As the Damson is frequently produced from seed, it varies in character. 
The Shropshire or Prune Damson is an English i)urple variety, rather obovate 
in form, but little superior to our common sort. The Sweet Damson resembles 
the Common Damson, and is but slightly acid. The Late Black Damson, Late 
Purple Damson, Prines's Early Damson, Small Red Damson, Small White Dam- 
son and Large White Damson are also varieties not of sufficient value or distinc- 
tiveness to render separate description necessary. The Winter Damson is a 
valuable market sort from its extreme lateness. It is small, round, purple, cov- 
ered with a very thick light-blue bloom. Flesh greenish, acid, with a slight 
astringency, but makes good preserves. It bears enornious crops, and will hang 
on the tree until the middle of November, six weeks after the Common Damson, 
uninjured by the early frosts. (Downing.) 

I)e Soto. — Large to very large, round-oblong, slight suture; red, slight 
purplish bloom; skin thick, flesh orange color, firm, juicy, good; cling. Late. 
Wisconsin. (Thomas.) 

Felleiibers" (Prune d'ltalie, Italian Prune, Quetsche d'ltalie, Altesse 
Double, Italian Quetsche). — Tree vigorous, spreading; branches smooth; fruit 
medium, oval; suture moderate; skin dark blue, with a bloom; stalk an inch 
long, rather stout, inserted in a very small cavity; flesh dark yellow, juicy, 
sweet, and good; separates from the stone. Good. First of October. (Down- 
ing.) 

Forest Garden. — Large, round-oblong, orange yellow, overlaid and dotted 
red: skin medium, thick; flesh moderately firm, orange color, fibrous, juicy, 
good; cling; stem slender, short. Tree forked and inclined to split. Not good 
east of Illinois. Good for home use. August. Illinois. (Thomas.) 

General Hand. — Origin uncertain; supposed to have originated on the 
farm of General Hand, near Lancaster, Pa. Tree very vigorous; branches 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 81 

smooth; fruit very large, roundish, oval; suture obscure, running half round; 
skin deep, golden yellow, slightly marbled with greenish yellow; stalk long, set 
in a shallow cavity, the whole of that end being flattened; flesh coarse, pale 
yellow, moderately juicy, sweet and good, but not of high flavor; separates 
freely from the stone. Good. September. (Downing.) 

Golden Beauty. — Medium, round ovate, pointed at apex, deep clear yel- 
low; skin thick; flesh amber, firm, sweet; semicling. Late bloomer, and in ripen- 
ing. Tree hardy, vigorous, productive. Good. Texas. (Thomas.) 

Green Gag:e. — This plum has thirty-six synonyms. The Green Gage is 
everywhere highly esteemed. In France it is generally known as the Reine 
Claude, having, it is said, been introduced into that country by Queen Claude, 
wife of Francis I. During the last [eighteenth] century an English family by 
the name of Gage obtained a number of fruit-trees among the monks of Chart- 
reuse, near Paris. Among them was a tree of this plum, which, having lost its 
name, was called by the gardener the Green Gage. It is pronounced by Lindley 
the best plum in England. The Green Gage is a very short, slow-growing tree, 
of spreading and rather dwarfish habit. It is an abundant and pretty regular 
bearer, though the fruit is liable to crack upon the tree in wet weather. 
Branches smooth. Buds with large shoulders. Fruit round, rather small, sel- 
dom of medium size. Suture faintly marked, but extending from the stalk to 
the apex. Skin green, or yellowish green at full maturity, when it is often a 
little dotted or marbled with red. Stalks half to three-fourths inch long, slender, 
very slightly inserted. Flesh pale green, exceedingly melting and juicy, and 
usually separates freely from the stone. Flavor at once sprightly and very 
luscious. Best. Ripe about the middle of August. There are several seedling 
varieties of this plum in various parts of this country, but none superior or 
scarcely equal to the old. (Downing.) 

Hale (Burbank No. 3, Prolific). — Medium, globular; light orange red; flesh 
yellow, firm, spicy, sweet; cling. Very late. (Thomas.) 

Heikes. — Much like Late Blood, but rather more flattened on the ends, or 
oblate, mostly darker in color, the flesh acid. Little known. Named for W. F. 
Heikes, of the Huntsville Nurseries, Huntsville, Ala. 

Indiana Red. — Large, round; cling. Indiana Horticulture. (Thomas.) 

Ivelsey. — Very large, two to three inches in diameter, heart-shaped, lop- 
sided, distinct suture; yellow, overlaid bright-red purple, dotted; flesh light 
yellow, firm, rich, free, usually hollow. Not hardy North. A good canning 
fruit. (Thomas.) 

Kerr (Hattonkin No. 2). — Medium, conical, sutured; bright yellow; flesh 
yellow, juicy, subacid; cling. Prolific. Probably not hardy North. (Thomas.) 

Klondike. — Earliest of all; ripe and gone by August 1. Golden yellow ; 
freestone. Originated in Iowa by cross-pollination. Introduced, 1897, by W. F. 
Heikes, Huntsville, Ala. Wragg, Iowa. 

Le Due. — Medium, round, flattened; orange, spotted red; skin thin; flesh 
soft, sweet; semicling. Mid-season. Minnesota. (Thomas.) 

Lombard (Bleecker's Scarlet, Beekman's Scarlet, Montgomery Prune). — 
Tree very vigorous, hardy; has strikingly crimpled leaves, bright, purple, glossy 
shoots, very productive ; popular. It was called the Lombard plum by the Massa- 
chusetts Horticultural Society in compliment to Mr. Lombard, of Springfield, 
—6 



82 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

Mass., who first brought it into notice in that state, and it is said to have been 
received by him from Judge Piatt, of Whitesborough, N. Y., who raised it from 
seed. But it was previously well known here by the name of Bleecker's Scarlet. 
Never having been described under that name, however, we adopt the present 
title. Fruit of medium size, roundish oval, slightly flattened at either end. Su- 
ture obscure. Stalk quite slender, scarcely three-fourths of an inch long, set in a 
broad, abruptly narrow cavity. Skin delicate violet-red, paler in the shade, 
dotted with red, and dusted thinly with bloom. Flesh deep yellow, juicy, and 
pleasant, but not rich, adhering to the stone. Good. Middle and last of August. 
(Downing.) 

LiOiie Star. — Medium, round-oblong, red; very thin skin. Texas. Chicka- 
saw. (Thomas.) 

Mankato. — Fruit very slightly oblong, inclining to truncate at stem end; 
suture rather distinct ; dull red, densely dotted with very minute yellowish specks ; 
flesh yellow, sometimes red next the stone, sweet and rich ; skin rather thick with 
very slight harshness, easily separable from the flesh ; stone thick, with convex 
sides, rounded at ends, obscurely margined; semi-cling; season late; leaves me- 
dium, broad, smooth, sharp serrate, glandless. Tree thrifty, symmetrical, fairly 
productive; bears young. 

Mariaima. — Large, round-oblong; red, yellow specks, fine bloom; flesh soft, 
juicy, sweet: semi-cling. Not especially valuable for the fruit. The facility, how- 
ever, with which this plum may be propagated from cuttings, and readiness with 
which the union takes place in grafting upon it, have made it a most common 
stock. It is supposed to be a seedling of some European plum. Originated in 
Texas. (Thomas.) 

Mara. — Medium, round, slightly pointed; yellowish red; flesh yellow, melt- 
ing, juicy, subacid; free. (Thomas.) 

Mcljaiigiiliii. — Raised by James McLaughlin, Bangor, Me. Tree hardy, 
vigorous, and productive; a valuable variety, nearly or quite equal to Green Gage. 
Branches smooth. Fruit large, nearly round, oblate, flattened at both ends; 
suture slight; stalk three-fourths of an inch long, inserted in a small c'avity by 
a ring; skin thin and tender, yellow, dotted and marbled with red on the sunny 
side, and covered with a thin bloom; flesh deep yellow, rather firm, juicy, very 
sweet and luscious, perfumed; it adheres to the stone. Best. Last of August. 
(Downing.) 

Moreinan. — Medium, round, dark red. Horticulana. (Thomas.) 

Munsoii (Hytan, Kayo, Douglas). — Medium, oblong; pale red; skin thin, 
tough; flesh yellow, melting, acid. Free, hardy, and productive; good South. 
(Thomas.) 

Myrobalaii (Cherry, Early Scarlet). — Small (one inch in diameter), round, 
remotely heart-shaped; bright red, bloom faint; stalk short and slender; cavity 
narrow; flesh juicy, slightly fibrous, soft, melting, subacid; not rich, adhering 
to the oval, pointed stone. Ripens very early, or about midsummer — its only 
value. Distinguished by its smooth, slender, small, bushy head and narrow 
leaves. There are many varieties. This plum is considered to be a variety of the 
P. domestica. It has long been a favorite stock for other plums, and immense 
numbers have been imported into this country. As it dwarfs the scion, however, 
it is not so much used as formerly. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 83 

Xewnian. — A variety of the Chickasaw family that has recently come into 
notice through D. L. Adair, of Kentucky. Tree healthy, hardy, vigorous, and 
productive. Fruit medium, roundish oval : skin light scarlet, with a thin bloom ; 
flesh soft, light pinkish, vinous, juicy; adheres to the stone. Early August. 
(Downing.) 

Niag-ara. — Medium, oval, dark purple; flesh pale yellow, juicy, sweet, free. 
September. ( Thomas. ) 

Moore's Arctic. — Below medium, roundish oval, dark purple, with a pleas- 
ant but not rich flavor. Early autumn. Tree healthy, vigorous, extremely hardy, 
a great bearer. Maine. (Thomas.) 

Noruiand (Normand Yellow, Normand Japan). — Medium, conical, heart- 
shaped, golden yellow ; flesh yellow, firm, and good; free. (Thomas.) 

Ogon (Oyon, Shiro-smomo, White Plum). — Medium, roundish, oblate, dis- 
tinct suture; golden yellow, with creamy bloom; flesh thick, firm, not juicy; 
free. Keeps long; good canner. Mid-season. (Thomas.) 

Peach Plum (Nectarine, Caledonian, Howell's Large, Jenkin's Imperial, 
Prune Peche, Louis Philippe). — Tree vigorous, upright; stout, blunt, purplish 
shoots, nearly smooth. A fine-looking fruit, of foreign origin, but only of second 
quality. Fruit of the largest size, regularly formed, roundish ; stalk about half 
an inch long, rather stout, and set in a wide, shallow depression; skin jjurple, 
dusted with a blue bloom; flesh dull greenish yellow, becoming tinged with red 
at maturity, a little coarse-grained, with a rich, brisk flavor, and adhering par- 
tially to the stone ; good. Middle of August. (Downing.) 

Poole (Poole's Pride). — Medium, round-oblong, red with bloom, sweet, good; 
hardy, prolific. (Thomas.) 

PottaAvatoniie. — Medium, round, red, streaked yellow; stem long, slender; 
flesh firm, juicy. Very productive. Mid-season. Tennessee. (Thomas.) 

Quakenboss. — Introduced by Mr. Quackenboss, of Greenbush, N. Y. 
Origin in the garden of S. C. Groot, Albany. A very rapid, upright grower, and 
productive. Branches smooth ; fruit large, oblong-roundish ; skin deep pur- 
ple, covered with a bluish bloom; suture scarcely apparent; stalk long, slen- 
der, and set in a slight depressed cavity; flesh greenish yellow, sprightly, juicy, 
and a little coarse-grained, sweet and subacid; adheres slightly to the stone. 
Good. September. (Downing.) 

Quaker. — Very large, round-oblate, flattened; purple-red, orange on side, 
blue bloom; skin thick, astringent; flesh firm, sweet, juicy; semi-cling; very 
good. Mid-season. Requires good cultivation and thinning. Iowa. (Thomas.) 

Keel Negate.— (See Rpd June.) 

Kobiuson (Miner, Hickley, Isabel, Gillett, Townsend). — This is an improved 
variety of the wild or Chickasaw plum, originated with Mr. Miner, Lancaster, 
Pa. Branches smooth, dark red; fruit medium, oblong, pointed at apex; skin 
dark, purplish red, with a fine bloom; flesh soft, juicy, vinous; adheres to the 
stone. Early October. (Downing.) 

Rockfoi'rt. — Trees planted in 189i are still rather small, but thrifty in appear- 
ance, forming round, regular tops. Leaves large, coarsely and deeply serrate, 
short acuminate ; stalks dark red, pubescent, mostly glandless. Fruit of medium 
size, oblong, somewhat pointed, broad at base; color dark red on green ground; 
skin thin; suture inconspicuous; flesh firm, very acid until quite ripe, then of 



84 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

good quality ; stone cling, broad at stem end and tapering to a rather acute, thick 
apex, sides strongly convex, margin narrow, but sharp. Productive; early; ripe 
August 31. 

RoUiug'Stoiie. — Very large, round, flattened, truncated at ends; mottled 
and spotted pink-purple; flesh firm, sweet, good; semicling. Mid-season. A 
very popular Western plum. Iowa. (Thomas.) 

Satsiima (Blood, Yonemomo). — Medium, roundish-conical, more or less 
sharp apex, deep suture; very dark red, blue bloom, greenish dots; flesh blood- 
red, rather coarse, subacid; cling. Blooms early; midsummer; productive. 
(Thomas.) 

Stoddard (Native). — One of the largest, perhaps the largest, of the native 
plums originated in Iowa. It is of light pinkish-red color, very handsome, with 
a tough, sweet skin, and of most excellent quality. (Sedgwick Nursery Com- 
pany.) 

Surprise. — A variety very recently introduced by Mr. Martin Penning, of 
Sleepy Eye, Minn., and perhaps finest in quality of all the cultivated native 
plums. 

Best plum I have seen in this state; large, deep, meaty, fine flavor. Tree 
thrifty, productive; early September; do not think it amer/oana. (Harris, Minn.) 

It may be a hybrid of Miner and awer/caw«, but resembles Miner in tree, 
fruit, and leaf. Appears to be hardiest of that type. (Heideman, Minn.) 

Best of my collection. Bears well and sells well. (Penning, Minn.) 

One of the very best in all respects; equal to any on my grounds. (Lord, 
Minn.) 

"Washington (Bolmar, Bolmer, New Washington, Bolmer's Washington, 
Franklin, Irving's Bolmar, Jackson, Parker's Mammoth, Washington Jaune, 
Philippe I). — The Washington, although not equal to the Green Gage and two or 
three others in high favor, yet its great size, its beauty and the vigor and hardi- 
ness of the tree are qualities which have brought this noble fruit into notice 
everywhere. The parent tree grew originally on Delancey's farm, on the east 
side of the Bowery, New York, but, being grafted with another sort, escaped no- 
tice until a sucker from it, planted by Mr. Bolmer, a merchant in Chatham 
street, came into bearing, about the year 1818, and attracted universal attention 
by the remarkable beauty and size of the fruit. In 1821 this sort was first sent 
to the Horticultural Society of London, by the late Doctor Hosack. The Wash- 
ington has remarkably large, broad and glossy foliage, is a strong grower, and 
forms a handsome round head. Wood light brown, downy. Fruit of the largest 
size, roundish oval, with an obscure suture, except near the stalk. Skin dull 
yellow, with faint marblings of green, but when well ripened, deep yellow, with 
a pale crimson blush or dots. Stalk scarcely three-fourths of an inch long, a 
little downy, set in a shallow, wide hollow. Flesh yellow, firm, very sweet and 
luscious, separating freely from the stone. Good to very good. Middle to the 
last of August. (Downing.) 

Way land. — Large, round-oblong; light red; skin medium thick and shiny. 
Very late; good for Southern states. Kentucky. (Thomas.) 

Wliitalcer. — Large, red, seedling of Wild Goose. Texas Horticultural. 
(Thomas.) 

Wiekson. — Medium; glowing carmine, with heavy white bloom; flesh yel- 
low, firm, spicy, subacid; cling. Good. Ships well. A cross of Kelsey and 
Burbank. (Thomas.) 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 85 

AVild. Goose. — Large, round-oblong, light red, skin thin; cling; stone long 
and narrow, prolonged above into a sharp point and below into a narrow base, 
finely pitted; flowers medium to large, stalked; leaves oblong-lanceolate, peach- 
like, not prominently pointed, the margins finely and evenly serrate, and the 
stalks usually bearing two to four small glands. Early. Quality poor, but on 
account of its productiveness, earliness, beauty, good shipping qualities and its 
early introduction it is the most popular of the native plums. The Wild Goose 
was first brought to notice by James Harvey, of Columbia, Tenn. Some time 
before 1850 a man shot a wild goose near Columbia, and on the spot where the 
carcass was thrown this plum came up the following spring. It was introduced 
about 1850 by the late J. S. Downer. 

"Willard (Botan No. 6). — Medium, roundish, dark red, numerous small yel- 
low dots; flesh yellow, sweet; free. Productive; very early. (Thomas.) 

Wolf. — Medium, round, yellow mottled red; skin thick; flesh yellow, firm, 
fibrous, good; free. Tree strong grower, prolific. Good for home and market. 
Iowa. (Thomas.) 

Wyaiit. — Trees stocky, forming round heads, of slower growth than Wolf or 
Weaver. Leaves medium, crisp in texture, sharply serrate, dark green ; stalks 
pubescent and glandular. Fruit large, round-oblong, flattened at apex ; cavity 
large and deep ; color purple red on yellow ground; stem short, stout; skin thick; 
flesh firm, of good flavor; stone free or nearly so, large, oblong, flat. Ripe Sep- 
tember 18. 

Yellow Eg-g-. — The White Magnum Bonum, or Egg plum, as it is almost 
universally known here, is a very popular fruit, chiefly on account of its large 
and splendid appearance, and a slight acidity, which renders it admirably fitted 
for making showy sweetmeats or preserves. When it is raised in a fine warm 
situation, and is fully matured, it is pretty well flavored, but ordinarily it is con- 
sidered coarse, and as belonging to the kitchen and not to the dessert. Branches 
smooth, long. Fruit of the largest size, measuring six inches in its longest cir- 
cumference, oval, narrowing a good deal to both ends. Suture well marked. 
Stalk about an inch long, stout, inserted without cavity in a folded border. Skin 
yellow, with numerous white dots, covered with thin white bloom; when fully 
ripe, of a deep gold color. Flesh yellow, adhering closely to the stone, rather 
acid until very ripe, when it becomes sweet, though of only second-rate flavor. 
Stem long and pointed at both ends. A pretty good bearer, though apt in light 
soils to drop from the trees before matured. Middle of August. (Downing.) 

Yosete (Earliest of All). — Small, conical, distinct suture; dark purple-red; 
flesh yellow; free. (Thomas.) 



86 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 



PLUMS FOR THE TABLE. 



A FEW STANDARD RECEIPTS. 

Butter. — Select mellow plums: pare and stone; weigh, and to every pound 
allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar. Put the plums in a porcelain-lined 
kettle: heat slowly; mash and stir until perfectly smooth, then press through a 
fine sieve; add the sugar; boil for fifteen minutes, stirring constantly. Put into 
jars, and tie up. (Canning and Preserving, by Mrs. Rorer.) 

Canned. — Allow three-quarters of a pound of sugar to every pound of plums. 
Put in a porcelain-lined kettle: cook sufficient to fill one jar only at a time: bring 
slowly to boiling-point; simmer until the plums are soft, without being broken, 
skim and can. All large plums may be canned in the same manner, first prick- 
ing the skins to prevent cracking. (Canning and Preserving, by Mrs. Rorer.) 

Caiiiietl. — Wash and put whole in a syrup made in the proportion of a pint 
of water and a pound of sugar to every two pounds of fruit; boil for eight min- 
utes; can and seal immediately. If pricked with a fork before putting in the 
syrup, they will be less liable to burst. Cherries are canned in the same way. 
(Buckeye Cookery.) 

Charlotte. — Stone a quart of ripe plums, and mix them with a pound of 
brown sugar. Cut slices of bread and butter, and lay them around the sides and 
in the bottom of a large, deep dish. Pour in the fruit boiling hot, cover the bowl, 
and set it away to cool gradually. When quite cold, serve with sweet cream. 
This is very nice in hot weather. (Skilful Housewife's Book.) 

Cheese. — Bake the fruit in a stone jar, with a few of the kernels to flavor it; 
then pulp it through a course sieve, and to each pound of pulp, free from stone 
and skin, add a half pound of powdered loaf sugar, in a pan; boil and skim till 
the sides candy, when pour the cheese into shallow pans, previously rubbed with 
butter, and tie them over. (Mrs. Hale.) 

To Prepare Fruit for Children. — A far more wholesome way than in 
pies or puddings, is to put apples sliced, or plums, currants, gooseberries, etc., 
into a stone jar, and sprinkle among them as much sugar as necessary. Set the 
jar in an oven, with a teacup of water to prevent the fruit from burning; or put 
the jar into a saucepan of water till its contents be perfectly done. Slices of 
bread or some rice may be put into the jar to eat with the fruit. (Mrs. Hale.) 

Cobbler. — Take one quart of flour, four teaspoons melted lard, one-half 
teaspoon of salt, two teaspoons of baking-powder; mix as for biscuits, with either 
sweet milk or water, roll thin, and line a pudding dish or dripping-pan, nine 
by eighteen inches; mix three tablespoons of flour and two of sugar together, 
and sprinkle over the crust; then pour in three pints of canned plums, and 
sprinkle over them one coffee cup of sugar; wet the edge with a little flour and 
water mixed, put on the upper crust, press the edges together, make two open- 
ings by cutting two incisions at right angles an inch in length, and bake in quick 
oven one-half hour. (Miss S. Alice Melching, Buckeye Cookery.) 

Compote. — Boil six ounces of sugar with half a pint of water to each pound 
of plums, the usual time; simmer the plums very softly for twenty minutes; in- 



THK PLUM IN KANSAS. 87 

crease the proportion of sugar if needed, and regulate the time as may be neces- 
sary for different varieties of the fruit. (Mrs. Hale.) 

Compote. — Four ounces of sugar and half a pint of water, to be boiled ten 
minutes; one pound of plums to be added, and simmered gently for ten or twelve 
minutes. (Mrs. Hale.) 

Dried. — Fruits for drying should be perfect and quite ripe. Cut in halves 
and take out the stones. It is best not to pare them. Spread in a single layer on 
boards, and stand in the hot sun to dry gradually until they turn leather-colored; 
bring in always before sunset, and never put out in damp or cloudy weather; a 
piece of mosquito netting will prevent flies from reaching them; when dry put 
into ijaper sacks and hang in a dark, dry, cool place. Cherries should be stoned 
before drying. All fruits may be dried in the oven, providing the oven is not 
sufficiently hot to scorch or scald. This is an excellent way, as the fruit is dried 
more quickly and you escape the danger of its being stung by insects. (Canning 
and Preserving, by Mrs. Rorer.) 

Eucherecl. — Nine pounds blue plums, six pounds of sugar, two quarts of 
vinegar, one ounce of cinnamon; boil vinegar, sugar and spice together; pour 
over plums, draw off next morning and boil, pour back on plums; repeat the boil- 
ing five mornings, the last time boiling the fruit in it about twenty minutes. 
(Mrs. Capt. W. B. Brown, Washington city. Buckeye Cookery.) 

Jam. — Stew plums in a little water and press through a colander or coarse 
sieve, adding a little water to get all the pulp through; add three-fourths pound 
sugar to each pound of pulped plums: boil three-quarters of an hour, stirring 
constantly; pour into jars or bowls, and cover with pai^er, pressed to fit each jar 
or bowl, down close, and then larger papers, brushed on the inside with the white 
of eggs, with the edges turned down over the outside of the glass. 

Jelly. — For this use common blue plums. Wash in cold water, put in a 
porcelain-lined kettle, and to every half peck allow a pint of water; cover and 
heat until soft and tender; then turn into a flannel jelly-bag, and drip slowly 
until the pulp is dry. Do not squeeze or handle the bag, or the jelly will be 
cloudy. To every pint of juice allow one pound of granulated sugar. Put the 
juice into a porcelain-lined kettle, and bring quickly to a boil ; add the sugar, stir 
until dissolved; boil rapidly and continuously until it jellies, skimming con- 
stantly; twenty minutes is usually sufficient, but sometimes I have boiled it 
thirty-five minutes before it would jelly properly. It is wise to commence testing 
after fifteen minutes' boiling. To do this, take out one teaspoon of the boiling 
jelly, pour it into a saucer, and stand in a cool place for a moment; then scrape to 
one side with a spoon — if jellied, the surface will be partly solid; if not, boil 
longer, and try again. As soon as it jellies, roll the tumblers quickly in boiling 
water, and fill with the boiling liquid. Stand aside until cold and firm (about 
twenty-four hours). Then, if you have jelly tumblers, put on the lids; if not, 
cover with two thicknesses of tissue paper, and paste the edges of the paper 
down over the edge of the tumbler. Then moisten the top of the paper with a 
sponge dipped in cold water. This moistening stretches the pai)er, so that when 
it dries again it shrinks and forms a covering as tight and smooth as bladder 
skin. I do not recommend covering with brandied paper, as it has not been 
satisfactory. The jelly, in cooling, forms its own air-proof covering. Keep in 
a cool, dark place. 

Jelly. — If plums are wild (not cultivated], put in pan, sprinkle with soda, 
and pour hot water over them; let stand a few moments and stir; take out, and 



55 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

put in with water to cover them — less if plums are very juicy; boil till soft, dip 
out juice with a china cup, then strain the rest through jelly-bags; do not squeeze 
them. Take pound for pound, or pint for pint, of juice and sugar; boil eight to 
ten minutes. Jelly will be nicer if only one measure or a measure and a half is 
made at once; if more, boil longer. Some boil juice ten or fifteen minutes, then 
add sugar and boil five minutes. Test by dropping some in a saucer and 
placing on ice or in a cool place ; if it remains rounded and does not spread, it is 
finished. If the plums are tame, discard the soda. Take the plums that are 
left and press through a sieve, boil half an hour, then take pint for pint of sugar 
and pulp, boil ten or fifteen minutes more. Half a pint sugar to a pint makes a 
rich marmalade, and one-third pint to pint, boiling it longer, is nice canned and 
used for pies, adding milk, eggs and sugar, as for squash pies. (Buckeye 
Cookery.) 

Pluin-and-apple Jelly. — This may be made by preparing the juice of 
one part plums to two parts apples, as above, and finish without flavoring. 
Marmalade is made the same way as above. Some add a little ginger root to it. 
One bushel of apples and one peck of plums make forty pints of jelly and six- 
teen quart glass cans of mixed marmalade. In making either kind of jelly, the 
fruit may be squeezed and the juice strained twice through swiss or crinoline 
and made into jelly. The pulp is not then fit for marmalade. (Buckeye Cook- 
ery.) 

Marmalade. — When the plums are thoroughly ripe, take off the skins, 
weigh, and boil them quickly without sugar for fifty minutes, keeping them well 
stirred; then to every four pounds add three of good sugar, boil the preserve 
from five to eight minutes longer, and clear off the scum perfectly before it is 
poured into the jars. When the flesh of the fruit will not separate easily from 
the stones, weigh, and throw the plums whole into the preserving pan, boil them 
to a pulp, pass them through a sieve, and deduct the weight of the stones from 
them when appropriating the sugar to the jam. Any other plum may be substi- 
tuted for Green Gages, in this receipt. Green Gages, stoned and skinned, six 
pounds, fifty minutes; sugar, four and one-half pounds, five to eight minutes. 
(Mrs. Hale.) 

Marmalade. — Rub the fruit, but do not pare it. Cut in halves, remove the 
stones, and to each pound allow a half pound of sugar. Put the fruit into a 
porcelain-lined kettle, with sufficient water to cover the bottom, cover, and heat 
slowly to boil ; then stir, and mash fine, add the sugar and three or four kernels, 
blanched and pounded to a paste, to every quart of marmalade. Boil for fifteen 
minutes, stirring continually; then stand over a more moderate fire, and cook 
slowly twenty minutes longer. Stir occasionally, that it may not scorch. Put 
away in stone jars. (Canning and Preserving, by Mrs. Rorer.) 

Preserves. — Allow equal weight sugar and plums; add sufficient water to 
the sugar to make a thick syrup, boil, skim, and pour over the plums (previously 
washed, pricked, and placed in a stone jar), and cover with a plate. The next 
day drain off the syrup, boil, skim, and pour in over plums; repeat this for three 
or four days; then place plums and syrup in preserving kettle, and boil very 
slowly for half an hour. Put up in stone jars, cover with paper, like jellies, or 
seal in cans. 

Preserves. — Plums may be preserved nice with the skins on or off. If on, 
they should be pricked at the top and bottom with a large needle ; to take them 
off, turn boiling water over them. Plums require a pound and a half of sugar to 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 89 

a pound of fruit: prepare your syrup thick and lay in your plums to simmer, 
not to boil: let them remain in a scalding state until cooked through, at least 
two hours: then skim out and boil the liquor down about an hour; it must be 
thick to keep well. The flavor will be much improved by boiling in the syrup 
one-half pint of the kernels, cracked; they must be strained out. Plums may be 
hardened by scalding them in alum water, and, when drained, pouring the hot 
syrup over them every day for a week: but, if done with care, they will remain 
whole preserved as above. (Skillful Housewife.) 

Preserved. — Weigh, and to each pound allow a pound of sugar. Put them 
in boiling water for a few moments, until the skin comes off easily : peel and 
throw them into a large earthen bowl or jar, sprinkling sugar between each layer: 
let stand over night. In the morning carefully pour off the juice into a porcelain- 
lined kettle: bring quickly to a boil: skim and then add the plums; simmer 
gently about thirty minutes until tender and clear; take out one by one with a 
spoon and spread on dishes to cool: boil the syrup a few minutes longer until 
thick. When the plums are cool, put them into tumblers or jars, pour the boil- 
ing syrup over, and seal or tie up. Yellow Gages, copper plums, prunes and blue 
plums may be preserved in the above manner. (Canning and Preserving, by Mrs. 
Rorer.) 

Preserve. — To every pound of Damsons allow three-fourths of a pound of 
powdered sugar; put into jars, or well-glazed earthen pots, alternately a layer of 
Damsons and one of sugar; tie strong paper or cloth over the pots and set them 
in ^he oven after the bread is drawn, and let them stand until the oven is cold. 
The next day strain off the syrup, and boil it till thick ; when it is cold put the 
Damsons into small jars or glasses, pour over the syrup, which should cover 
them, and tie a wet bladder or strong cloth over them. (Mrs. Hale.) 

Pudtliug". — Stew plums, fresh or dried, with sugar to taste, and pour hot 
over thin slices of baker's bread with crust cut off, making alternate layers of 
fruit and bread, and leaving a thick layer of fruit for the last. Put a plate on 
top, and when cool set on ice; serve with sifted sugar, or cream and sugar. This 
pudding is delicious made with Boston or milk crackers, split open, and stewed 
apricots, with plenty of juice, arranged as above. Or, another way, is to toast 
and butter slices of bread, pour over it hot stewed fruit in alternate layers, and 
serve warm with rich hot sauce. (Mrs. L. S. W., I5uckeye Cookery.) 

Spiced. — The plums should be pricked before cooking. Seven pounds of 
fruit, four pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, one-half ounce of ginger root, one 
teaspoonful of ground cloves, two teaspoonfuls of allspice, two teaspoonfuls of 
cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful of ground mace. Put the vinegar and sugar on 
to boil ; mix the spices and divide them into four parts ; put each into a small 
square of muslin, tie tightly, and throw them into the sugar and vinegar. When 
this mixture is hot, add the fruit; bring to boiling-point, take from the fire, and 
turn carefully into a stone jar. Stand in a cool place over night. Next day, drain 
all the liquor from the peaches into a porcelain-lined kettle, stand it over a mod- 
erate fire, and, when boiling, pour it back into the jar over the plums or cherries. 
Next day, drain and heat again, as before, and do this for nine consecutive days, 
the last time boiling the liquor down until there is just enough to cover the fruit. 
Add the fruit to it, bring the whole to a boil, and put in jars or tumblers for 
keeping. (Canning and Preserving, by Mrs. Rorer.) 

Sweetmeats. — Take Damson plums that are perfectly ripe, peel and divide, 
and take out the stones: put over a gentle heat to cook in their own juice; when 



90 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

soft rub through a sieve and return to the stove, adding just enough sugar to 
sweeten, a little cinnamon, and, when nearly done, wine in quantity to suit the 
taste. This is done more to keep the sweetness than for the flavor, as self-sealing 
cans are not used here. All preserves are pasted up with the white of eggs. 
(Mrs. Williston, Heidelberg, Germany, in Buckeye Cookery.) 

Spiced Plums. — Make a syrup, allowing one pound of sugar and one pint 
of vinegar to each seven pounds of plums; to this add one teaspoonful of allspice, 
one of cloves, two of cinnamon, one-half ounce of ginger root; tie these spices in 
muslin and cook in the syrup. When it boils add the plums, bringing all to the 
boiling-point; simmer slowly for fifteen minutes and stand in a cool place over 
night. Next drain the syrup from the plums and put the plums into stone or 
glass jars; then boil the syrup until quite thick and pour it over the fruit. 

Another recommends pouring the boiling spiced syrup over the plums in a 
stone jar, drawing it off and bringing it to a boil every other day and pouring 
over the plums again until it has been heated five times, after which the fruit 
and syrup are placed in a kettle and boiled slowly for five minutes, and sealed 
hot in glass jars. This is said to preserve the plums whole. 

By simply covering the fresh plums with cold well water, they may be kept 
for three weeks or longer, and the water removes all harshness from the skin and 
pit. They may be kept in good condition for use until winter or the following 
spring, by jjlacing in a barrel or jar and pouring boiling water over them. 

To Remove Fruit Stains. — Mix two teaspoonfuls of water and one of 
spirits of salt, and let the stained part lie in this for a minute, then rinse in cold 
water. Or wet the stain with hartshorn (ammonia). 

Another way to remove fruit stains: Pour on boiling water and let stand a few 
minutes. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 91 



A HORTICULTURAL WIZARD. 



LUTHER BURBANK. 

H. E. VanDeman has the following interesting sketch of our famous 
hybridizer in a late issue of the Rural Nev:; Yorker. As one must see 
from this, Luther Burbank was a born horticulturist : 

Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa, Cal., began by originating the Burbank po- 
tato while he yet lived in Massachusetts, and millions of bushels of that choice 
variety have since been grown and marketed in many parts of the world. He 
came of horticultural stock on his mother's side, for she is of the Burpee family, 
which is represented at Philadelphia by one of the most eminent flower and vege- 
table experts in the world. She is past eighty-five years of age, and lives with 
her son in California, witnessing the results of his useful life. His father's fam- 
ily were of a mercantile and mantifacturing turn of mind. Although born and 
reared on a large farm in Massachusetts, the boy Luther was sent, when eighteen 
years old, as an apprentice to the Ames Plow and Spade Works, at Worcester, to 
learn wood-turning and pattern-making. The love of nature and outdoor work, 
which came from his mother's blood, would not allow him to endure the confine- 
ment and dust of the shop; so after three years of it he bought a small farm near 
Lunenburg, Mass., and began experimenting with plant life. It was here that 
he grew the Burbank potato from seed. 

He told me once that he loved to work with plants from childhood, and can 
remember a big crying spell he had over smashing a pot with a cactus plant in it 
when he was less than three years old. He soon became inspired with the idea of 
devoting his life to originating new fruits, flowers, and vegetables. Thinking the 
climate of New England uncongenial to this line of work, he moved to Santa 
Rosa, Cal., in the fall of 1875. He started a small nursery there, in which the 
olive was a specialty. When I visited him there in 1888, he had all his propagat- 
ing houses full of olive plants. He was constantly experimenting with seedling 
fruits and flowers, and, although this work was not so profitable as the nursery 
business, he loved it better, and sold out all but the experimental part, that he 
might devote his whole time and means to it. 

At his home within the city limits, he has about ten acres, all devoted to 
experiments, and a large modern greenhouse, in which some of his most delicate 
work is done. At Sebastopol, which is a few miles distant in the foot-hills, he 
has eighteen acres closely set to experimental trees and plants, besides about 
thirty acres for farm experiments. Mere curiosity or pleasure seekers are not 
admitted to his premises, for he has no time to devote to them, neither does he 
wish to give information outside until he is ready. 

At one time there were on his grounds over 80,000 seedling lilies. Mr. Bur- 
bank originated a new strain of the gladiolus, of which he sent me ten of the 
choicest varieties about ten years ago. He sold out the whole lot to an Eastern 
nurseryman. Over one million seedlings were grown before he was satisfied to 
send out his. stock. He grew thousands of seedlings of the iris, and also origi- 
nated new varieties of the calla and rose that are decided improvements. The 
chestnut and walnut have received attention at his hands. Some of the most phe- 



92 THE PLUM IN KANSAS, 

nomenal varieties of the chestnut ever known were originated by Mr. Burbank. 
The Persian walnut has been crossed upon the wild walnut of California, and 
various other crosses of the same nature were made in this family, which have 
resulted in some remarkable varieties. Among the berries, he has made crosses 
and grown millions of seedlings. He has repeatedly accomplished what was long 
thought to be impossible, in the crossing of the blackberry and raspberry, and 
even the strawberry and raspberry. The latter cross resulted in nothing of value, 
but the former has given us some very excellent varieties. Some of his quince 
seedlings are of the very highest character, and will, in due time, prove them- 
selves so in culture. 

He is making a new lot of crosses at blooming time, planting a new lot of seed- 
lings every year. Not long since he wrote me that he had over 2700 new seedling 
plums fruiting this year. Of these but few, and possibly none, will be saved by 
him and sent out to the public. He requires several years' trial before allowing 
anything to be sent out, or even named. The consummate skill, the enduring 
patience and the immense expenditure of time and money necessary to accom- 
plish what he does is rarely imagined and, perhaps, never fully appreciated. 

Another writer has this to say of Luther Burbank : 

He has made the plum a perfect thing. One of his creations was immedi- 
ately bid for by a syndicate that offered $10,000 for its control, but it was placed 
on general sale. Pieces of grafting wood of it were sold at the following prices 
for propagation: Two feet, $15; five feet, $30; fifty feet, $200; one hundred feet, 
$350. Dormant buds on peach and almond roots sold at $10 each. When a cus- 
tomer questioned the price he said: "You do not appreciate the difference in 
value of two little pieces of living plum wood, one of which has the power of 
producing trees that will bear fruit worth $855 a ton, while the other will bear 
fruit worth only $5 a ton." Of another plum he said: "There is only a little 
bundle of the grafting wood in existence." (This fruit sold at $8.50 for a box of 
twenty pounds, eighty-eight plums in the box — ^S-*^! cents per pound, at whole- 
sale.) In an announcement of new creations for 1900 he mentions a new hybrid 
plum of enormous size and flesh like a white, juicy peach. He is often called the 
" wizard of horticulture." 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 93 



THE OPPORTUNITY FOR WIDER PLANTING. 

By S. H. Linton, Marceline, Mo. 

That we may better understand the various varieties now in nurs- 
ery catalogues, it is proper to give the origin, order and group of plums 
as laid down by scientific authority. The domestica or European 
types {P. domestica), native to western Asia, include all of the old- 
time plums, Green Gage, Bradshaw, Yellow Egg, Damson, Reine 
Claude. The Chickasaw types [P. angustifoJia or P. <du' rasa), belong- 
ing to the Southern states (on a line with southern Delaware south- 
ward ) , are such varieties as Newman, Caddo Chief, and Lone Star. The 
American type (P. atnericana) is composed of the common wild plums 
of the northern part of the United States, from Michigan west to the 
Rocky mountains, thence south to the Gulf. The Wild Goose or 
hortulana types {P. hortulana) form the group of Wild Goose, Way- 
land, Moreman, Golden Beauty, and Miner; "no doubt hybrids of 
the native and Pacific coast plum." The Sand plum {P. watsoni), 
native to Kansas and adjoining states, is but little known or cared for 
by horticulturists. The Beach plum {P. mafithna), native on the 
north and eastern Atlantic coast, has little value in fruit, but the trees 
are beautiful as ornaments. The Pacific coast plum {P. sulx-ordata) 
is a natural product of the forests of Oregon and California, but little 
known in domestication execpt in the individual of the Sissin type. 

Within the last decade has come the introduction of the Japanese 
type {P. trlfiora), "probably native of China," says Professor Bailey. 
During its brief stay the Japanese plum has made many warm horti- 
cultural friends, and generally adapted itself to the climate and soil 
in the United States in all territory south of the north line of Mis- 
souri, and will undoubtedly be of great value and a grand acquisition 
to the already large group of fine plums. By careful breeding, some 
choice varieties of the Japanese type can and will be produced that 
will withstand the severe winters of the more northern states. Prof. 
L. H. Bailey says : "I am still convinced that the Japanese plum has 
come to stay." Here in Missouri we can add to this, by saying that 
we are truly glad that they have come. With the addition of the 
Japanese plum the season is extended from June to the first and 
middle of September, and in some seasons even into October. , . . 

The plum, being prolific in fruit, is necessarily a gross feeder and 
must have abundance of food combining the proper ration. The 
three elements in proper ratio which give both wood and fruit growth 
are : Nitrogen, two per cent. ; available phosphoric acid, seven per cent. ; 
potash, nine j)er cent. This fertilizer should be applied in quantities 



94 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

of 500 to 1000 pounds per acre annually. The fundamental laws of 
systematic or scientific horticulture are based on proper food ration. 
The best soil for plums is a heavy clay, underlaid with a gravelly sub- 
soil, capable of conserving moisture. The color of the top soil needs 
little consideration in selecting a proper location for planting — more 
depending upon the proper chemical analysis of the soil, combined 
with complete drainage. Hillsides, points, and ridges — other advan- 
tages being favorable — make good locations for jAum orchards; such 
locations are numerous in this state. We, as citizens of this great 
state of Missouri, know no limit or scarcely any bounds to the cul- 
tivation of the better and more jDrofitable varieties of plums. "Of all 
the important fruits, the common plum has the smallest American 
literature," says Professor Bailey. This is as much as to say that the 
culture of the plum, of all fruits, is most neglected, and what is true 
in this case in the Eastern states is also a fact in Missouri.* Then 
our fruit-growers should wheel into line with their best and most direct 
financial interests and plant more good plums, which make a quick 
return in profit and greatly assist in bridging over the expense of 
planting and growing other fruits that take longer to produce a crop. 
Progressive horticulture, toned with experience, polished by science, 
the products reaped with the golden sickle of success, stored in the 
broad, liberal minds of the intelligent grower, the joy and pleasure 
divided with the family and subdivided with friends and acquaint- 
ances, is the theme sought for. ... 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE SEXUAL AFFINITIES OF 
PRUNUS AMERICANA. 

By C. W. H. HEIDEMA.N. Read before the Minnesota Academy of Natural Sciences. 
THE PROBLEM. 

The uncertainty of the regular annual fruiting of plums in the 
Northwest, where only the native Prunus americana, in its many 
varieties, has been found sufficiently hardy to endure the climatic 
conditions, has long been a difficult problem in horticulture. Writers 
on the subject of plum culture have attributed as the cause of the 
more or less non-productiveness "the influences of domestication and 
consequent high culture," "self-sterility," etc. The beneficial effect 
of cross-fertilization has been hinted at and proposed as the remedy 
for all cases of infecundity. Mixed and close planting of the varie- 
ties to better insure cross-fertilization has been suggested by nearly 
all of them. Reports of various horticultural societies are filled with 

* We think this applies to Kansas as well. — Sec. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 95 

instances of the beneficial effect of cross-fertilization, but, reading 
between the lines, as many or more instances of the failure of good 
results from cross-fertilization have been recorded. Cross-fertiliza- 
tion, therefore, unless it be effected in the direction of the natural 
affinities of the varieties, does not completely explain why certain 
varieties, even with the aid of cross-pollination, may be prolific one 
season and tliQ next produce no fruit at all ; why one season the 
fruit will be large and fine, the next inferior in size and quality ; why 
an unusually fine variety in the woods and thickets will be worthless 
when removed from its surroundings, even with subsequent best of 
care and culture. 

About ten years ago I began making artificial crosses for the pur- 
pose of breeding improved varieties. My grounds contained at least 
200 trees, mostly selected from the woods and thickets along the 
Minnesota and Cottonwood river bottoms, together with a few hor- 
ticultural varieties of P. americana. I soon found that many of 
my desired crosses were difficult to obtain. I observed numerous 
adaptations to ensure cross-pollination, together with differences in 
morphology of the stamen and pistil. Crosses between certain forms 
were fully fertile, while with others negative results were invariably 
obtained. Reciprocal crosses between varieties and between species 
were not equally fertile. I determined to go into the matter system- 
atically, keeping a careful record of each cross made and noting the 
result, raising hundreds of seedlings and again experimenting with 
them. 

P. americana and other species of Prunus vary much in their 
wild state in flower, fruit, foliage, season of maturity, and other 
botanical characteristics, so much so that an enterprising botanist 
might easily pick up in the thickets of almost any natural area where 
they abound a dozen or more varieties with characters so distinct 
from the type as to entitle them to the distinction of specific varieties. 
The writer has no desire to inflict upon scientific botany any further 
division of the botanical characters of a species which is already 
sufficiently defined, but only offers his classification for the purposes 
of this palmer in the interest of economic horticulture. 

CLASSIFICATION. 

Adopting the nomenclature used by Darwin in his "Different 
Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species," and classifying as 
to morphology and function, we find the following fairly well-defined 
forms in addition to the hermaphrodite form of botanists : 

Dichogamous Group. — Proterogynous, on which the stigma is ready 
for fertilization and has passed the receptive stage before the pollen 
matures. Proterandrous, on which the pollen ripens and matures be- 
fore the stigma is ready for fertilization. 



96 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

Heterostyled Group. — Long styled, on which the pistil is nearly 
twice the length of the stamens. Short styled, on which the stamens 
are nearly twice the length of the pistil. 

Bisexual Group. — Gynodioecious, on which the flowers in mor- 
phology consist of perfect flowers, but mostly females with anthers 
aborted and only a few grains of pollen, and these smaller and mostly 
aborted. Andromonoecious, on which the flowers in niorphology con- 
sist of perfect flowers, but mostly males with most of the pistils want- 
ing or only present in a rudimentary form. 

These divisions in morphology and function are generally well de- 
fined, but sometimes graduate into each other. The hermaiDhrodite 
form, which is the only one capable of self-fertilization, is now scarcely 
found in a wild state. Most of our cultivated varieties of P. ameri- 
cana are transition forms of this, and are somewhat difficult to classify. 
Some of the horticultural varieties certainly belong to the next, and a 
few are certainly heterostyled. Dichogamous varieties are more fre- 
quently met with in nature. The proterogynous form is easily dis- 
tinguished by most of the i^istils projecting through and above the 
petals, which for a day or two remain incurved over the still immature 
stamens, thus mechanically preventing the ripening of the pollen, 
and fertilization, if accomplished at all, has generally been effected 
before the petals expand. I have also noticed in intense forms of 
this and the next a considerable difference in the time in which the 
stigma became recef)tive and the pollen mature after exposure to air 
and sunshine. The proterandrous form is also easily distinguished 
from the fact that the pistil, before the petals expand, is found curved 
within the corolla, the stigma being inverted and partly within the 
calyx tube. About twenty-four to thirty-six hours after the petals 
expand, and usually after the pollen on the anthers has all dehisced, 
the pistil gradually assumes an upright position and becomes recep- 
tive; and as the stigma does not become receptive until after an ex- 
posure to the influence of light and air for at least an hour or two, 
self-fertilization is prevented. The peculiarities of the two dichoga- 
mous forms not only in a measure mechanically prevent self-fertiliza- 
tion, but certainly prevent the maturation of the pollen grains and 
stigmatic secretion at the same time, and this alone in the more in- 
tense forms is sufficient to prevent self-fertilization. 

With respect to heterostyled plants Darwin says: "Unless it be 
proved that one form is fully fertile only when it is fertilized with 
pollen from another form, we have not complete evidence that the 
species is heterostyled. But when pistils and stamens differ in length 
in two or three sets of individuals, and this is accomijanied by a dif- 
ference in the size of the pollen grains, or in the state of the stigma, 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 97 

we may infer with much safety that the species is heterostyled." If 
the above test is correct, then a few individuals of our species are 
heterostyled, and many more are tending in that direction. Bisexu- 
ality is clearly defined in many individuals in nature, the male form 
being more numerous. I have frequently met forms entirely devoid 
of pistils. Now and then I have found forms which do not appear to 
come under any division of the foregoing classification. For instance, 
I have a tree which for three years has produced flowers, each of 
which had two, and in a few instances three ajjparently perfectly de- 
veloped pistils. So far no fruit has set, although I made last spring 
a number of hand crosses to determine its affinity. These freak 
forms are the exception, and with them this paper has nothing to do. 

POLLINATION AND FERTILIZATION. 

The fruit-buds of P. amerlcaiia are developed on the spurs and 
spur-like branches of the current season's growth. The following 
spring, on approach of steady warm weather in May, the buds swell 
and expose from one to five flowers, in a simple, umbel-like cluster. 
The period of bloom and the time when pollinatian may be effected 
generally extends over two or three days, and in cool and cloudy 
weather it may extend over a week. Pollination is effected by the 
aid of wind or insects. Within from two to twenty-four hours after 
the blossom has fully expanded, or, in the dichogamous forms, after 
the pistil and stigma have been exposed to light and warmth, the 
stigma becomes receptive, as may be jilainly seen with a glass of 
moderate diameters by the glistening secretion on the stigma. Pollen 
ripens, during clear, warm weather in about the same time, varying 
slightly in the different varieties. Within three or four days after 
fertilization has been effected the petals drop off, and the calyx tube 
is parted over the now slowly swelling ovary and drops off". When 
pollination has not been effected the blossom continues fresh for sev- 
eral days, although the stigma may have become covered with dust 
and withered and become non-receptive, and it finally drops off, the 
peduncle remaining for a day or so longer. The peduncle lengthens 
to nearly its full length from the time the blossom bursts from the 
bud until fertilization is complete, and when legitimately fertilized 
enlarges in diameter. When fertilization has been illegitimately ef- 
fected the peduncle does not enlarge in diameter as much, and the 
slightly enlarged ovary usually falls, together with the peduncle, within 
from three to twenty days after fertilization. 

The season of full bloom ranges in different varieties over a period 

of about ten days. The past season, my earliest-blooming varieties 

were in full bloom May 2, and the latest May 10. The actual time in 

the life of a blossom during which fertilization may be effected 

—7 



98 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

scarcely exceeds two hours, and is not, as many suppose, during the 
whole life of the expanded flower. 

LEGITIMATE AND ILLEGITIMATE FERTILIZATION. 

From the many artificial crosses that I have made and recorded, I 
long ago became convinced that fertilization might be effected in dif- 
ferent degrees, and that many plants had the power of throwing off 
such ovaries as were fertilized by pollen lacking in sexual affinity, and 
that this was especially true in P, americana. It should be borne in 
mind that the production of seed is the chief end of the act of fertili- 
zation, and the vivification of the ovule is the primary object of pol- 
lination. By systematic crossing and hybridizing, I determined that 
the union of the reproductive elements of two trees possessing the 
proper selective affinity for each other readily jjroduced a stronger de- 
velopment of the ovary ; a union of this kind I shall call "legitimate." 
It is well known that by crossing distinct species fertilization is effected 
with more or less difficulty ; that reciprocal crosses of the same two 
species vary in the intensity of fertilization. As to the union of the 
reproductive elements of varieties lacking in sexual affinity for each 
other, or in which the reproductive elements have become too greatly 
differentiated and the development of the ovary either fails entirely or 
is below the normal, I shall use the term "illegitimate," and in the 
same sense as used by Mr. Darwin. 

The simplest test to determine the sexual affinity of any variety, 
and one which I have never known to fail when under proper condi- 
tions, is to take several sets of flower clusters and pollinate each indi- 
vidual stigma with pollen of a different form. The union of such 
crosses as posses the proper degree of affinity will prove fertile, while 
the union of those lacking in affinity will prove sterile. No matter 
how many of the flowers of each cluster are pollinated legitimately 
or illegitimately, the result will be as above. If all of the flowers of 
a cluster are pollinated legitimately, they will all set fruit, barring 
accident, of course. This experiment may be modified by many dif- 
ferent combinations. Of the forty-nine possible combinations, or 
directions, of pollinations, but one form, the hermaphrodite, is fully 
fertile with its own pollen. Including the hermaphrodite form, cross- 
fertilization is legitimate in only thirteen directions. Thus, it will be 
seen that, among the seven forms of P. americana, pollination is pos- 
sible in forty-nine directions, thirty-six of them giving negative or 
illegitimate results, and that there are only thirteen directions in 
which cross-fertilization is jDossible. 

I know of no group of plants more favorable than the genus Prunus 
for the study of the order of evolution from the hermaphrodite stage 
to the higher stage of bisexuality. Their organs of reproduction, as 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 99 

I have shown, present a number of jjeculiarities of morphology and 
function, unusually interesting and significant and at the same time 
unusually intelligible, nor are these peculiarities exhibited to the 
same degree by any other group of plants. A study of these numer- 
ous adaptations to insure cross-fertilization must necessarily end in 
the conclusion that our species is gradually approaching a state of 
dioeciousness, and, fortunately for our discussion, there appears to be 
no missing link in the chain. With these numerous adaptations and 
structures to prevent self-fertilization and to insure cross- fertilization 
in view, we are prepared to understand why, in the several cases, self- 
and cross-fertilization are possible, and why impossible ; why cross- 
fertilization is possible in a certain direction, while the reciprocal 
cross may be sterile ; and, finally, by what means our species is gradu- 
ally becoming dioecious. 

The wedge of variation, having gained a hold of our hermaphrodite 
form, still in existence and capable of self-fertilization, and forced by 
long-continued self- and occasional cross-fertilization, produced the 
earliest types of our dichogamous group which the better insured 
cross-fertilization. In the proterogynous form, the pistil, protruding 
through the still undeveloped petals and stamens and receiving the 
advantage of sunlight, air, and warmth, was encouraged to greater 
development, the stamens being correspondingly retarded. In the 
proterandrous form, the stamens received the benefit and the pistil 
was retarded. Through successive generations, the influence of the 
law of balancement has been at w^ork, the evolution towards a separa- 
tion of the sexual organs has fairly started, and we have the founda- 
tion in the proterandrous and proterogynous forms for the pistillate 
and staminate forms of a future dioecious species. Simultaneously 
with the development of the pistil and retardation of the stamens, 
and vice versa, came the further adaptation of difference in time of; 
maturity of the reproductive elements, with an additional protectioni 
against self-fertilization. 

The develojjment of the reproductive organs, aided by the law of 
balancement, continued, and we have developed the heterostyled group. 
What we before accomplished to quite an extent by purely mechanical 
adaiDtations is now accomplished by a difPerentiation in the reproduc- 
tive elements. So great a differentiation in the reproductive organs; 
surely caused a differentiation in the sexual elements. Our species has 
now become divided against itself. The differentiation of the repro- 
ductive elements was followed by still further development and re- 
tardation of the reproductive organs, and we have nearly reached the 
bisexual stage, not only in morphology but in function. 

We now have only a step further to the comj)lete separation of the 

LrfC. 



100 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

sexual organs. In the earlier stages of the dichogamous group 
self-fe'rtilization was possible, but mainly prevented by mechanical 
adaptations to insure cross-fertilization. In the heterostyled group, 
self-fertilization is prevented by the great differentiation in the re- 
productive elements, and the sexual affinity destroyed. There can be 
no doubt that the differentiation into species was accomplished by 
variation of form, foliage, cell structure, etc., without a corresponding 
differentiation of the sexual elements. We know this from the fact 
that distinct species will sometimes cross, but not freely, in a recipro- 
cal direction. 

I have myself, within the past ten years, produced hybrids between 
P. angustifoUa and P. americana; between P. domestica and P. 
ameri carta ; between P. hesseyi Bailey (P. jt>?//>?//fif- Lin.) and P. 
hortulana B.; between Cerasus avium var. and P. hesseyi B. I made 
several hundred crosses to produce hybrids between our Sand cherry 
(jP. hesseyi) and horticultural varieties of Cerasus avium. Pollen 
of C. avium var. on P. hesseyi invariably proved sterile; reciprocal 
crosses set fruit, but they failed to germinate, the seed containing 
only a trace of the aborted ovule. When I finally used the pollen of 
a proterandrous form of P. hesseyi on a short-styled form of C. avium 
fertilization was effected and developed a normal fruit, the seed of 
which germinated and produced an undoubted hybrid. The recipro- 
cal crosses of the same varieties failed to fertilize a single ovule out 
of over fifty crosses made. I had applied the same principle in the 
production of hybrids between P. hortulana and P. hesseyi with fair 
success. The successful crosses just mentioned were made with pollen 
which had not been too greatly differentiated, on a pistil which, in 
accordance with the theory advanced for the evolution of the differ- 
ent forms, had been retarded. The unsuccessful crosses were made 
with differentiated pollen on a pistil not sufficiently differentiated. 

Finally, we must conclude that the means by which the bisexual 
forms have been produced, though gradually and necessarily very 
slow, are identical with the forces that produced the different species. 
In the crossing of the different species, we find that, by applying the 
same rule for cross- fertilization, we can trace the genealogy back to 
the forms wherein the differentiation of the sexual elements had not 
■destroyed their affinity. From these experiments we deduce the fol- 
lowing : 

CONCLUSIONS. 

Self -sterility of P. amerieana in the heterostyled and bisexual 
forms is caused by the great differentiation of the sexual elements. 
Pollination by wind and insects cannot be controlled to any extent. 
Mixed planting, therefore, unless it be done with respect to the nat- 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 101 

ural affinities of the varieties, may produce the most disastrous result 
for the horticultiirist. 

Other species of Frunus observed show these characteristics of P. 
amerirana, and it may be possible to bring them together under a 
similar classification. 

Finally, we have gained some knowledge in the summary produc- 
tion of hybrids. 

THE JAPANESE PLUMS IN NORTH AMERICA. 

By Peof. L. H. Bailey, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 

In 1870 Mr. Hough, of Vacaville, Cal, secured several plum 
trees from Japan through Mr. Bridges, a United States consul in that 
country, at a cost of ten dollars each. These trees soon passed into 
the hands of the late John Kelsey, of Berkeley, Cal., who obtained 
the first ripe fruit in 1876 or 1877. Mr. Kelsey became convinced 
of the value of the plum for general cultivation, and its propa- 
gation upon an extensive scale was begun in 1883 by 'W. P. Ham- 
mond & Co., of Oakland, who afterwards named it in memory of Mr. 
Kelsey, and who made large sales in the planting season of 1884. 
Subsequently other parties, particularly Luther Burbank, of Santa 
Rosa, Cal., made importations of plum trees from Japan, and have 
disseminated the varieties widely. For the past four or five years 
these plums have awakened more interest throughout the country 
than any other new or recent type of fruits ; and it has been fovind, 
contrary to the early opinion, that many of them are adapted to the 
Northern states. While they are often inferior in quality to the best 
garden or Domestica* plums, they possess various desirable charac- 
teristics which the others do not, particularly great vigor and pro- 
ductiveness of tree, comparative freedom from disease, great beauty, 
and long-keeping qualities ; and the best of them compare well in 
quality with the common plums. 

For many years after the introduction of the Kelsey, there seems 
to have been little speculation as to the origin or botanical position 
of these oriental plums ; but as the varieties increased and began to at- 
tract general attention, a demand arose for a knowledge of their gene- 
sis. A plum found in the botanic gardens at Calcutta about seventy 
years ago by Roxburgh, and by him named P. trlflora, seemed the most 
likely parent ; but as there were some difficulties in his characteriza- 

* The term Domestica plums is used to distinguish the common cultivated 
plums, all of which have sprung from the European P. domcsticci, from the 
native and Japanese types. The term Japanese plum is used only for these varie- 
ties of P. irifiord now under consideration, and does not include the Bungo or 
Bongoume types, which are apricots. 



102 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

tion of the species, and as subsequent botanists have not found the 
wild form, and as Maximowicz, the most eminent botanist who has 
recently given careful attention to these oriental floras, does not 
identify the cultivated plum flora of Japan with Roxburgh's species, 
I accepted for a time a name proposed by Professor Kizo Tamari, of 
Tokio, P. hattan, and published it as the best means of classifying 
our knowledge of these plums until the proper botanical name should 
be determined. In 1891 Professor Georgeson, of the Kansas Agri- 
cultural College, who had sjjent some years in Japan in a critical 
study of its products, definitely referred these plums to P. triflora, of 
Roxburgh, in an article in American Garden.* 

The types in cultivation vary much amongst themselves, but I have 
been unable to make more than one species out of them, and the va- 
riation is considerably less than in the families or groups of the do- 
mestica plums, which botanists are jaretty well agreed have descended 
from a single specific type. 

This plum is probably native to China. Roxburgh said that the 
species was introduced in Calcutta from China, and, upon this asser- 
tion, Hemsley admits it to his recent "Flora of China," having "only 
seen specimens cultivated in the Calcutta botanic garden." There is 
no record, so far as I know, of its occurrence in a native state in Japan. 
Professor Georgeson remarks that its cultivation is old in Japan and 
that its origin is uncertain ; and Professor Sargent, of Harvard Uni- 
versity, who has recently made an exploration of the forests of Japan, 

* The following is Roxburgh's description of the species in his "Flora of 
India," p. 501 (in this work the plant is called P. ir if olio, probably through 
inadvertence): "Unarmed, peduncles tern: leaves oblong, very finely gland- 
serrate, smooth, in the bud equitant; drupes cordate. China, Hong-sum-li. 
This elegant, very ramous, bushy shrub has been received from China into 
our gardens in Bengal, where it blossoms in February, immediately after which 
the luxurious foliage expands, and the fruit, which is about the size of the com- 
mon plum, and nearly as palatable, ripens in May and June. Trunk in our 
young cultivated trees, or rather shrubs, very short, soon dividing into numerous 
branches and branchlets in all directions from diverging to erect. Bark on all 
smooth. Leaves alternate in the bud equitant, petioled, recurved, oblong, taper- 
ing equally at each end, very finely gland-serrate, considerably acuminate, 
smooth, from two to four inches long and from one to two broad, in Bengal de- 
ciduous about the close of the year. Stipules from the base of the petioles, en- 
siform, gland-ciliate. Flowers very numerous, rather small and white, short 
peduncled, regularly three from each bud, and there are generally two of those 
buds in each of the old axils, with a leaf-bearing one in the center. Bractes, 
the scales of the bud, cordate, scariose, and nearly caducous. Calyx, segments 
five, oblong; margins glandular. Petals oval, short clawed, the length of the 
peduncles. Filaments about thirty, shorter than the petals. Germ ovate, one- 
celled, containing two ovula attached to the same side of the cell. Style the 
length of the stamina. Stigma large. Drupe cordate, with an obtuse rising at 
the apex, the size of the common plum, and of the same purple color, covered 
with a similar bloom, grooved on one side. Pulp in large quantity, of a pale, 
reddish yellow. Seed single, conform to the nut. Integument single. Peri- 
sperm a thin covering on one side only. Embryo inverse. Cotyledons unequal, 
the small one doubled, and embraced by the larger, subequitant." 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 103 

was unable to find wild plants. Much of the interior and western 
IDortion of China is unexplored botanically, and it is not strange that 
the aboriginal type of this interesting fruit is yet undiscovered. Ac- 
cording CO Bretschneider, the plum was anciently cultivated in China, 
which indicates an indigenous origin. 

Maximowicz, Hemsley and other botanists seem to be confused 
with the resemblance of P. triflora to P. domestica, and it has also 
been said by various pomologists that some of the i^lums recently 
imported from Japan are only varieties of the Domestica type. While 
botanical specimens of the two may strongly resemble one another, 
the species are nevertheless readily distinguished, even in winter, and 
I have not yet seen a plum of Japanese origin which can be referred 
to P. domestica. In fact, the Domestica plums seem to be little known 
in Japan. Professor Georgeson, writing upon this point, makes the 
following statements: "The varieties of this species, which is our 
common plum, have been introduced in Ja]pan, but are not generally 
known, if known at all, beyond the environments of foreign settle- 
ments and those regions reached by the Kaitakushi in its attempts 
to introduce and naturalize foreign fruits. The Kaitakushi was the 
name of a department of the government (commonly translated colo- 
nization department), which, however, was abolished long ago. Its 
object was to colonize the northern island with Japanese, and to this 
end large numbers of fruits and other economic plants from the West 
were introduced, the climate there being somewhat like that of central 
and northern Europe." If the Domestica plums are little known in 
Japan, it may also be said that the Japanese plums appear to be 
wholly unknown in Europe,* unless possibly in Russia, and it is 
therefore not probable that any serious confusion of varieties has 
occurred between the two species. It is very important, then, that a 
complete record of this species should be made while yet it is confined 
to comparatively isolated areas of the globe. 

Botanical position of the Japanese plums. — There is a striking 
difference in the winter characters of trees of Japanese and Domestica 
plums. The Japanese varieties tend to make long and forking 
branches, with a light-colored, rough, somewhat peach-like bark, 
which is marked by numerous corky elevations, while the Domestica 
are closer and more bushy growers, with a dull gray or j)urplish, tight, 
smooth bark. But the greatest differences lie in the buds. For ex- 
ample, Coe's Golden Drop, a Domestica jilum, in common with 
all varieties of the species, has single and pointed buds. The Japa- 

*Naudin, for instance, in his admirable "Manual de I'Acclimateur" (1887), 
knows the species (which he calls, erroneously, P. Japonica) only from an ac- 
count of the recent introductions into California contained in the Gardener's 
Chronicle. 



104 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

nese varieties usually have their buds in threes, as in the Burbank, 
or sometimes even in fours or fives, as in the Kerr, and these buds 
are small and blunt. Three flowers commonly spring from each 
flower- bud of the Japanese varieties, and it was this circumstance 
which led Roxburgh to call the species P. trljiora, or three-flowered 
l^lum ; while in the Domestica type the flowers are more commonly 
one or two from each bud. The buds are often aggregated upon 
short spurs in the Japanese varieties, and the flowers are then crowded 
into showy masses, as in the Ogon. Upon the longer shoots, where 
the buds are but three at a joint, the clusters are less evident, as in 
the Kelsey, yet their glomerate character is always more marked than 
in the Domesticas. Brief characters of separation may be drawn be- 
tween P. domestica and P. trljiora, as follows: 

Common Plums (P. domestica): Trees of moderate and more or 
less crooked growth, with not roughened gray or purplish and often 
pubescent young wood and single, pointed buds and large, protruding 
leaf-scars ; flowers usually one to two from a bud, large and opening 
wide, mostly long-stalked ; leaves mostly large, thick and heavy in 
texture and prominently netted and often pubescent below, dull above, 
varying from ovate to round-ovate to broadly obovate in outline, blunt 
or the point not pronounced, conspicuously obtusely toothed or some- 
times almost jagged ; fruit globular or oblong or even oboval but not 
prominently pointed, with a large, flat, pointed and winged pit. 

Japanese Plums {P. triflora): Trees of strong growth, with 
widely spreading, long, forked branches, which are light colored and 
marked with corky elevations, the young growth not pubescent, the 
buds three or more at the joint, and the leaf-scars often small ; flow- 
ers mostly two to three from each bud, generally rather small and 
short-stalked, and sometimes not opening wide ; leaves firm but rather 
thin in feeling and not pubescent nor rough-netted below, although 
the whitish veins are pronounced, very smooth and often somewhat 
shiny above, commonly long-obovate or sometimes nearly elliptic in 
outline and the point usually prominent, the edges marked with fine, 
close serratures ; fruit globular or more often conical, and with a deep 
depression at base and a very prominent suture, the flesh clinging to 
or free from the smooth or lightly pitted, scarcely winged pit. 

But these Japanese plums are more nearly allied botanically to our 
native plums, particularly to the Wild Goose type, than they are to 
the Domestica class. This may be seen even in the twigs of the Wild 
Goose. And this similarity to our native species is really, to my 
mind, one of the strongest points in their favor, for it indicates that 
they will be likely to adapt themselves to a very wide range of our 
great country, inasmuch as we may fairly assume that similarity of 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 105 

attributes has been produced by similarity of environment. This 
conviction of their kinship with our native species and the knowledge 
that they come from the eastern Asian region from which we draw 
so many of our adaptive plants, has led me to recommend them strongly 
for trial even in our more trying fruit regions ; and recent reports in- 
dicate that some varieties bear so far north as Ottawa, Ontario, and 
in the trying winters of central Iowa ; and one, at least, of Professor 
Budd's Russian plums is of this species. Several pomologists have 
been struck with this similarity of the Japanese and native types; 
and, strangely enough, Dr. A. B. Dennis, of Cedar Eapids, Iowa, in 
endeavoring to explain this relationship, in a recent paper before his 
state horticultural society, by supposing a former land connection 
between northwestern America and Asia, has independently hit upon 
one of the important points in the coincident evolution of the Japa- 
nese and eastern American floras, the discussion of which, over thirty 
years ago, made Asa Gray famous. 

It may be well, in passing, to consider for a moment the possible 
effect of this new class of plums upon the further development of our 
native species. I am sorry to hear from some of my friends who have 
given careful attention to the amelioration of the natives, that they 
shall now relax their efforts upon the native types and accept the 
Japanese sorts in their stead. It is true that the Japanese plums are 
now better in their fruit, for all that we can see, than the natives, but 
we can depend ujDon it that they will develop weak points somewhere, 
even in comparison with the little-improved natives ; and we should 
further consider that all types of plums now in the country, or likely 
to come in, add variety and diversity to the foundation upon which 
our horticulture must build, and make it possible to develop fruits 
for every variety of country and use. And if the Japanese plum 
promises more for large areas of our country than the European or 
Domestica type, because of its evolution in conditions somewhat like 
our own, certainly the native species must possess still greater prom- 
ise. The native species are yet scarcely rescued from the woods, 
while the other two have been cultivated for centuries ; but, while 
the latter have sprung from a single species in their respective coun- 
tries, our native stock offers at least a half-dozen species, and it is 
from them, without a doubt, that the greater part of the American 
I)lum industry will some day be found to have sprung. 

Nomenclature and classification of varietJes. — There is much 
confusion in the nomenclature of the Japanese plums. If the varie- 
ties imported from Japan have been named at all, they have usually 
come as Botan or Botankio, Hattankio or Sumomo ( generally written 
Smomo); but these names refer to classes or groups of varieties, and 



106 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

the attempt in this country to apply them definitely has resulted in 
confusion. It may also be said that the Satsuma or blood class ap- 
pears to comprise several varieties. The Sumomo class is character- 
ized by small, globular fruit, with a firm, sweet flesh, ripening very 
early. The Botans or Botankios are larger and later round plums, 
while the Hattans or Hattankios are conical. The terms are applied 
loosely even in Japan, and it does not seem to be worth while to en- 
deavor to retain them here, particularly as there appear to be all man- 
ner of gradations between the types of the difPerent groups. There 
has been some misconception of the application of these terms, and 
it is often said that they refer to color rather than to shape.* 

There are various colors in each of these classes of plums, from 
deep purple to light red, yellow, and nearly white. The Hattankio 
cla^s seems to be the commonest in this country, being represented 
by the Kelsey, Burbank, Satsuma, Abundance, Berckmans, Normand, 
Kerr. The Botans are represented here chiefly by Ogon and Willard, 
while the Sumomos seem to be known only in the little, cherry-like 
Berger, which passes under a variety of names. The Japanese plums 
might be divided into two general groups upon the color of the flesh 
— the yellow-fleshed and the red-fleshed, or Satsumas — but this classi- 
fication would serve little purpose, although the Satsumas seem to be 
recognized as a class by my Japanese correspondents. 

Characteristics of the Japanese plums. — Many varieties of Japa- 
nese are now named and more or less disseminated in this county, and 
others are known by numbers or indefinite appellations. . . . Un- 

*Upon this point. Professor Georgeson explains as follows: "Quite a number 
of the many other varieties [than the Sumomo] springing from this species are 
designated by two general names, a fact which is very confusing to a stranger 
when he begins to study them. These names are botankio and hattankio, or bo- 
dankio and hadankio, for they are variously pronounced as regards the sound 
of d and t. These two names are common, and are even occasionally heard in 
this country: but it is a mistake to suppose that they apply to two and only two 
varieties. They are names of two ill-defined classes of plums, and are applied 
rather loosely to several varieties which differ in color and size, and somewhat 
also in shape. The only distinction between the two classes that I have been 
able to establish is based on the shape. The round plums are designated by the 
term botankio, while those of an oval or pointed shape are called hattankio. A 
mistake often made by foreigners, and by some natives also, is to suppose that 
the distinction is based on color, though it is a fact that most of the botan- 
kios are red. The name hattankio is also sometimes given to the almond, while 
botan is the name of the peony, and ha-botan means cabbage, and one of the 
many meanings of kio, or kiyo, is large, or great. If these objects had anything 
to do with the naming of the plums, it seems probable that botan referred to the 
rounded shape and not to the color, since their peonies are found in a great va- 
riety of colors, and that hattankio referred to the resemblance in shape to the 
almond. But, ae already remarked, these names are used very loosely, as it is 
an easy matter to find several evidently quite distinct varieties of each class for 
which both grower and dealer can give you no other name than botankio or hat- 
tankio, as the case may be. Sometimes, again, these terms may have a prefix in- 
dicative of color or size, or the place where it is grown." (Am. Gard., xii, 74.) 



THE TLUM IN KANSAS. 



107 



named seedlings are coming, to be known to experimenters, and the 
time must be near at hand when a varied American progeny will 
come, . . . Unfortunately, the Kelsey was the first Japanese 
plum to become known in this country, and, as it is hardy only upon 
the Pacific coast and south of Virginia, it became a general impres- 
sion that the species is not adapted to cultivation in the north. The 
varieties which are now known to be hardy in the plum regions of 
New York and Connecticut are Burbank, Abundance, Willard, Ogon, 
Satsuma, Berger, Chabot, and Yosebe, and most others give promise 
of hardiness. Doctor Dennis reports Burbank and Ogon to have 
borne at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after having experienced a temperature 
twenty-six degrees below zero. Early blooming will probably prove 
to be a more serious weakness of these plums than lack of hardiness. 

The season of these plums varies considerable. The earliest to 
mature in central New York is the little Berger, which ripens the 
middle of July. The earliest of what may be called the market 
varieties, in this latitude, seems to be Willard, which colors sufficiently 
for market about the 15th of July in ordinary seasons, and which is 
fully ripe for eating a week later. Ogon follows, coming in about the 
1st of August, or sometimes late in July, or about ten days ahead of 
Wild Goose. Late in August, or very early in September, the Abun- 
dance is ready. Burbank ripens here about the first or second week 
in September. 

As a class, the Japanese plums are long keepers. Even when fully 
colored and grown and fit to eat, some varieties will keep nearlj^ two 
•weeks, most will keep a week, and some, if not all of the varieties, 
ripen up well if picked rather green, after the manner of a pear, 
although they may suffer in quality from such treatment. Willard, 
picked when beginning to color on the exposed side, I have kept nine 
days in good condition in a warm room with no attempt to preserve 
them ; Abundance picked August 21, when well colored, began to 
decay September 2 ; Burbanks, partly colored and picked August 24, 
were placed in a tight box in a warm room, and on September 5 they 
were nearly all in perfect condition and had colored well, but even 
then were not fully ripe ; a red i^lum, much like Berckmans, kept 
from September 18 to October 1. J. H. Hale, of Connecticut, reports 
keeping Satsuma two weeks in his office in good condition, and they 
were fairly ripe when picked. 

Varieties. — An attempt will now be made to describe the varieties 
of Japanese plums which are known in North America. The nomen- 
clature is so much confused and many of the varieties so imperfectly 
known, that I cannot hope to have arrived at just conclusions in re- 
gard to the proper names and descriptions of all of them ; but the 



108 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

attempt will serve to classify and fix our knowledge of the varieties, 
and I hope that it will lead others to make a more prolonged study of 
them. It is particularly difficult to determine which is the proper 
type of any variety in those cases in which two* or three fruits pass 
under the same name, and I presume that some of the following names 
may be found to be wrongly applied. On the other hand, it is very 
probable that some of the varieties which are here kept distinct may 
prove to be identical. Some of the varieties I know only from printed 
descriptions, but I have added them for the purpose of making the 
monograph complete. Many growers have given me great aid in the 
preparation of this descriptive list, among whom I should mention 
P. J. Berckmans, of Augusta, Ga., and S. D. Willard, Geneva, N. Y., 
without whose cooperation I could scarcely have attempted this 
essay. 

It has seemed best to discard entirely the Japanese class names, as 
Botan, Botankio, Hattankio, Sumomo, and the like, as they only 
lead to confusion. I have therefore renamed some of the varieties 
which are passing under indefinite names or numbers. The introduc- 
tion of the name Abundance for the plum first known as Yellow- 
fleshed Botan has been severely criticized in some quarters, but I have 
always felt that the renaming was not only justifiable but essential to 
lucid nomenclature. If the other Japanese generic names had been 
supi^lanted several years ago, much of the present confusion would 
have been avoided. 

In rating the size of the varieties, Kelsey, of course, must stand 
ten ; and in comparison with this standard even seven or eight repre- 
sents a large plum. 

It does not seem to be necessary to adopt any classification of these 
plums, and I have therefore listed them alphabetically. The most 
serviceable classification would be one founded ujDon color of skin and 
flesh. The varieties might be arranged as follows : 

A. — Yellow-skinned plums : Georgeson, Kerr, Normand, Ogon. 

I>. — Red-skinned plums: (1) Yellow flesh. — Abundance, Bab- 
cock, Bailey, Berckmans, Berger, Burbank, Chabot, Kelsey, Long 
Fruit, Maru, Munson, Orient, Perfection, Red Negate, Strawberry, 
Willard, Yosebe. (2) Eed flesh. — Delaware, Hale, Heikes, Late 
Blood, Satsuma, Uchi-Beni. 

ABUNDA^'CE (Yellow-fleshed Botan). Medium in size (but large when thinned ), 
varying from nearly spherical to distinctly sharp-pointed, the point often oblique ; 
ground color rich yellow, overlaid on the sunny side with dots and splashes of 
red, in some specimens nearly uniformly blush-red on the exposed side': flesh 
deep yellow, juicy and sweet, of good quality when well ripened ; cling. A strong- 
growing upright tree, with rather narrow leaves, and a decided tendency to over- 
bear. This is the best known of all Japanese plums in the North, and its 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 109 

popularity is deserved. Ripe in early September or late August. Imported by 
Luther Burbank in 1884. Named Abundance, and put upon the general market 
by J. T. Lovett in 1888. The fruit is apt to rot badly in wet seasons, unless well 
thinned. 

Babcock (Botankio, Botan of some). Medium to large {11 to IJ in. diam.), 
round, conical; skin yellow overlaid with purplish red, rather thick; flesh deep 
orange and solid, a little coarse, sweet, of good flavor and quality: cling; rather 
late, ripening about with the Burbank. Imported in 1885 by Luther Burbank. 
Now named for Col. E. F. Babcock, a well-known nurseryman of Little Rock, 
Ark., among the first to grow and recommend. 

Bailey. Large, nearly globular; ground color rich orange, overspread with 
light and bright cherry-red, and showing many minute orange dots; flesh thick 
and melting, yellow, of excellent quality ; cling. Tree strong and upright, pro- 
ductive. Closely related to Burbank, but rounder and mostly larger, and a week 
or more later. Imported by J. L. Normand, Marksville, La., and by him named 
and introduced in 1891. 

Bebckmans (True Sweet Botan, Sweet Botan, White-fleshed Botan, Botan 
of some). Medium (slightly above if thinned), broadly and obtusely conical and 
somewhat angular in cross-section ; deep blood-red if ripened in the sun ; flesh 
very sweet, moderately juicy, excellent in quality; cling or semicling: ripens 
with Abundance or just ahead of it. One of the best. Introduced by Luther 
Burbank in 1887, from imported stock. The variety does not appear to be a true 
Botan, and its nomenclature is so confused and indefinite that I have renamed 
it for Mr. Berckmans, who has done much to popularize it. 

Berger. Fruit very small and globular; bright, uniform red, with a firm, 
meaty and sweet yellow flesh, and a very small, free stone, ripening as early as 
the middle of July in some parts of New York and Connecticut. The fruit is 
very distinct in appearance, and cannot be mistaken for any other Japanese 
plum which I have seen. T. V. Munson, of Texas, writes as follows of it: "The 
Berger plum is an upright, cherry-like tree. It bears a purple fruit about the 
size of the Black Tartarian cherry, with meaty flesh, nearly free stone, which is 
as small as the pit of the common Black Morello cherry, and much the same 
shape." Mr. Berckmans says that the "tree is very vigorous and distinct in 
growth, but a shy bearer. The fruit is too small to be worthy of being retained." 
What I have seen of this fruit, however, leads me to believe that it may be a 
useful sort for the home garden because of its earliness, daintiness, and pleasing 
flavor. Professor Georgeson, to whom I have submitted specimens, pronounces 
it a Sumomo. 

Burbank. Medium to rather large upon thinned trees, roundish conical form, 
the point generally blunt; ground color orange-yellow, mostly rather thinly over- 
laid with red, and showing many yellow dots, often more or less marbled, in the 
sun becoming rather dense red; flesh firm and meaty, yellow, rich, and sugary; 
cling. Strongly resembles Abundance both in fruit and tree, but the fruit aver- 
ages larger and of better quality, rather handsomer in its varied markings, and 
is from two to four weeks later; exceedingly productive. One of the best of 
the Japans. Imported by Luther Burbank, Santa Rosa, Cal., late in 1885, and 
named for him by H. E. Van Deman. 

Chabot. Medium to large, oblong, conical; pink-red in color, with many 
very fine gold dots; flesh yellow and juicy, rather acid, of good quality; cling; 
medium to late in season; very productive. Ripe in this latitude early in Sep- 



110 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 



tember. Imported from Japan by Mr. Chabot, of Berkeley, Cal., but introduced 
to the trade by Luther Burbank in 1886. Especially valuable for drying. 

Delaware. Roundish conical, medium in size ; purplish bronze in color, with 
a white bloom; flesh wine color, juicy, combining many flavors. Trees semi- 
dwarf; very productive. Catalogued among Luther Burbank's novelties, 1893. 
Said to be a cross of Satsuma and Kelsey. 

The following record of the actual dates of blooming of the Japa- 
nese plums has been prepared for me by J. W. Kerr, of the Chesa- 
peake peninsula. It will be seen that some of them bloom as early as 
P. pissardil and P. simonll, which are known as very early bloom- 
ers. 

Record of dates at which oriental plums bloomed at Eastern Shore nurseries, Denton, 
Caroline county, Maryland, 1892. 



Variety. 



Kelsey 

Bo tan 

Ogon 

Maru 

Chabot 

Botankio 

Hattankio . . . 

Yosebe 

Uchi-Beni. . . . 
Shiro Smomo 
Long Fruit. . . 
Yellow Japan 

Burbank 

Satsuma 

Engre 

P. pissardii . 
P. simonii. . . 



Date when first 

open blossom 

appeared. 



April 



i 

6 
16 

8 

8 

4 

10 

IG 

16 

14 

16 

16 

7 

7 

15 
7 



Date when half 

of buds were 

open. 



April 15 
" 12 
" 18 
" 16 
" 15 
8 
" 15 
" 18 
" 18 
" 16 
" 18 
" 18 
" 11 
" 10 
" 17 
9 
9 



Date when all 

or nearly all 

were out. 



April 20 

" 18 

" 24 

" 22 

" 19 

" 10 

" 19 

" 24 

" 20 

" 19 

" 20 

" 20 

" 16 

" 17 

" 20 

" 14 

" 14 



Some, at least, of the Japanese plums are much subject to fruit- 
rot, and this appears to be specially true of the Abundance, particu- 
larly when it is not well thinned. Mr. Kerr writes me under date of 
Julv 5, 1892, that "there is not a single variety of the Japanese plums 
that is holding its fruit except Botan, and even they are rotting very 
rapidly, and I doubt if a perfect specimen will go through. Bordeaux 
mixture seems to avail nothing as a remedy for the rot. Notwith- 
standing failures in general this year, I have begun shipping Chicka- 
saws, of which I have a good crop." These plums are evidently not 
more subject to rot than many varieties of Domesticas, however, and 
I doubt if they are so much injured, as a rule, as the Lombard. 

It has been said that these j)lums, or some of them, are curculio 
proof ; but this is an error. Yet they often appear to escape much of 
the excessive injury which falls to the Domestica varieties. The 
following note from the Rural New Yorker bears upon this point. I 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. Ill 

saw the tree here described, uj)on the editor's grounds, just before the 
fruit was ripe, and it appeared to be free from curculio injury. 

The Abundance plum (August 4) at the Rural grounds is a sight to behold. 
The branches are wreaths of fruit, and they, as well as the tree itself, are held up 
by props and ropes. Some of the plums are beginning to color; all are of good 
size, and, though the old marks of the curculio sting are engraved upon most of 
them, no injury seems as yet to have resulted. For twenty years, off and on, the 
Mural New Yorker has tried so-called curculio-proof plums. We have never 
used insecticides nor jarred the trees to destroy them, and we have never before 
had a crop of plums. Plums are not raised in the vicinity, simply because the 
people are not willing to put themselves to the trouble of jarring the trees, and they 
know from experience that they cannot raise plums without doing so. Now, 
here we have the Abundance loaded down with beautiful fruit, while not a pre- 
caution has been taken to destroy the curculio. Blessed be the Abundance! It 
is well named. 

So far as I have been able to learn, none of the varieties are seri- 
ously attacked by black-knot, although the disease occurs on them. 
This circumstance, however, should not be dwelt upon too strongly, 
for it is possible that the exemption is largely accidental. Yet I have 
seen perfectly healthy trees on the Hudson river where all the com- 
mon plums in the neighborhood were seriously injured. The varieties 
appear to be nearly exempt from leaf-blight, also. 

The Japanese plums are commonly budded upon the joeach, and so 
far very few complaints have reached me from failure of the union ; 
but I shall be surprised if as strong and permanent results come from 
the use of this stock as from the use of their own seedlings or Domes- 
tica stocks. 

REVIEW. 

1. Twenty-four years ago a plum was introduced into California 
from Japan which jDroved to belong to a species heretofore unknown 
in America. It was first fruited by the late John Kelsey, of Berkeley, 
Cal., and for him it was named. It began to attract wide attention 
about ten years ago. 

2. This plum belongs to the species P. triflora, which is supposed 
to be native to China, but which is unknown in a wild state. Subse- 
quent importations have been. made from Japan, and at the present 
time about thirty varieties are more or less known and disseminated. 

3. These Japanese plums are distinguished from the common Do- 
mestica plums by their generally more-pointed or heart-shaped fruit, 
which has a deep groove or suture upon one side, by a longer-keeping 
flesh, and generally a less-winged pit. In other botanical features 
they differ, in commonly bearing three or more winter buds at a joint, 
instead of one, in the light-colored rough bark, flowers usually in twos 
or threes, leaves long-obovate or elliptic and finely serrate. They 
are closely allied in botanical characters to some types of native plums. 



112 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

4. The nomenclature of the varieties is much confused, largely be- 
cause the Japanese names are used for groujDS or classes and not for 
specific varieties; and there is no uniformity even in the generic ap- 
plication of these names. It is essential to an exact understanding 
of this fruit, therefore, that the Japanese class names be discarded in 
this country. 

5. While importations from Japan have been made freely, there 
are probably many more good varieties in that country which have 
not reached America ; but we must look for most permanent progress 
in the future from American otfspring. 

6. The Japanese plums differ amongst themselves greatly in hardi- 
ness. The Kelsey is adapted only to the states south of Virginia and 
to the warmer parts of the Pacific coast, but other varieties are fully 
hardy in parts of Connecticut, Ontario, New York, and Iowa. 

7. The varieties now known to be hardy in the plum regions of 
New York are Burbank, Abundance, Willard, Ogon, Satsuma, Chabot, 
Yosebe, and Berger; and others give promise of being as hardy as 
these. 

8. The period of riiDening of the various kinds extends over a long 
season, running, in New York, from the middle of July to the middle 
of September. The same variety does not always appear to ripen at 
the same period in successive years. This is especially true of the 
Kelsey, which sometimes varies through a period of three months. 
In New York, the earliest market variety which has been tested ap- 
pears to be Willard, followed closely by Ogon, then Abundance and 
Berokmans, and Burbank still later. Kelsey is generally the latest of 
all the varieties. 

9. Most of the Japanese plums keep for several days, and some of 
them even for two weeks, after they are ripe. Satsuma is one of the 
best keepers known in the North. 

10. The larger part of the varieties are red with deep yellow flesh, 
and the Satsuma, and a few varieties less known, have deep red flesh. 
There are only four well-known yellow varieties. There are eight 
freestones, as follows: Ogon, Willard, Kelsey, Berger, Maru, Mun- 
son, Normand, Yosebe. 

11. The varieties which can be most confidently recommended at 
the present time are Abundance, Burbank, Willard, Kerr, Berckmans, 
Maru, Red Negate, Chabot, Satsuma, and, perhaps, Ogon. Kelsey is 
recommended for the South. 

12. The chief weaknesses of the Japanese plums are too early 
bloom of some varieties and liability to the fruit-rot fungus. Amongst 
their advantages are partial immunity from black-knot and leaf-blight, 
and often a partial freedom from curculio injury. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 113 

13. Altogether, the Japanese plums constitute the most important 
type of fruit introduced into North America during the last quarter 
of a century, and they should receive careful tests in all parts of the 
country. 

THE PLUM IN THE WEST. 

From Bulletin No. 50, Colorado Experiment Station. 

The genus Pniniis, as now constituted, embraces those species 
from which have been developed all our stone fruits — almonds, 
peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, and cherries. Its representa- 
tives are widely distributed over the earth, and the number of species 
given by different authors varies greatly. Bentham and Hooker, in 
their "Genera Plantarum," place the number at about eighty. A 
later work, the "Index Kewensis," recognizes 121 species, and records 
290 names as synonyms. The 121 species here considered valid are 
distributed as follows : Eastern hemisphere, 87 species, 15 of which 
are credited to Japan and 12 to China ; western hemisj^here, 32 
species, 21 of which belong to the United States and the region north ; 
7 are credited to Mexico, and 1 to South America and the West 
Indies ; 2 species are recorded of unknown origin. 

Our American manuals record species of the genus as follows : 
"Botany of California" (1876), 6 species; Chapman's "Flora of the 
Southern States" (1883), 7 species; Coulter's "Manual of the Kocky 
Mountain Region" (1885), 5 species, 1 variety ; Gray's "Manual," 
sixth edition (1890), 10 species, 1 introduced variety; Coulter's 
"Flora of Texas" (1891), 8 species; "The Britton and Brown Flora" 
(1897), 16 native, 1 introduced species, 2 native and 1 introduced 
varieties. Taken together, these floras recognize 27 native and 4 in- 
troduced species, and 3 native and 1 introduced varieties. 

Of the native representatives of the genus, sixteen species and one 
variety are true plums, or of such close affinity as to readily class with 
them, while eleven species and two varieties are cherries or belong 
with the cherry group. Nearly all the species enumerated in the 
manuals are, or have been at some time, introduced into gardens and 
cultivated, either for their fruits or as ornamentals, but the varieties 
now catalogued by nurserymen and grown in orchards represent but 
few species. Of the native cherries, only the shrubby Sand cherries 
{ P. pumila, P. hesseyl, and P. cuneata) are grown for fruit. The 
wild Red cherry {P. pennsylvanira) is occasionally used as a stock 
upon which the common sour cherries of European origin are grafted ; 
it has also been used to a limited extent as a stock for some of the plums. 

Of the native plum group, three species {P. americana, P. hortu- 



114 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

lana, with its variety, miner i, and P. angustifolki) have furnished 
nearly all of the cultivated varieties. The Beach plum {P. maritiina) 
is the parent of but one variety, of doubtful value. The Marianna, so 
largely used for stocks, and the De Caradeuc are closely related but of 
uncertain origin. A few varieties are probably hybrids, although the 
manner in which most of them originated is more a matter of specu- 
lation than of definite knowledge. There are still other varieties that 
cannot even be classed as hybrids and whose ancestry is likely to re- 
main undetermined. 

Professor Bailey, of Cornell, who has given the whole plum group 
careful study, arranges the native varieties into groups as follows : 

The American group — P. americxtna. 

The Wild Goose group — P. hortulana. 

The Miner group — P. hovtulana. var. mineri. 

The Chickasaw group — P. an guf<ti folia. 

The Marianna group^of uncertain origin. De Caradeuc assigned to P, cer- 
asi.fera, and Marianna thought to be a hybrid. 

The Beach plum — P. )aaritirna. 

The wild plum of the Pacific coast — P. subcordata. 

Hybrids, unclassified varieties — of uncertain origin. 

Our foreign introductions belong to two groups, viz.: The European plums, 
such as Lombard, Green Gage, and the numerous Prunus, to P. domestica; 
the Japanese plums to P. trijiora. 

While the European plums can be grown in some sections, the 
tender nature of the fruit-buds makes them uncertain on the eastern 
slope, except in favored localities, and dependence must be placed 
mainly upon the americana varieties. In the fruit districts of the 
western slope the Wild Goose is eminently successful and stands at 
the head of the list of profitable varieties, but it is probably too 
tender for the eastern slope, certainly for the northern and central 
districts. 

In general throughout the West the native plums are proving 
profitable. Even in districts where the domestica varieties are suc- 
cessfully grown, the native Red plums sell in competition with them, 
and at remunerative prices. While it may be admitted that most na- 
tive varieties are inferior in size and flavor to those of the domestica 
class, it should be remembered that the extended introduction of the 
natives is comparatively recent, that the improvement in them has 
been rapid, and that they offer wonderful jDossibilities in the direction 
of future development. All the better varieties are very productive. 
Some show a strong tendency to excessive production, a habit which, 
if allowed to go unchecked, not only gives inferior fruit, but tends to 
shorten the life of the tree. With such varieties systematic thinning 
must be practiced in order to insure regular crops and fruit of the 
largest size and best flavor. Then, having produced good fruit, if the 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 115 

grower will exercise the same care in handling that is given other 
fruits, and will place them on the market in the same attractive pack- 
ages, the demand which already exists will be greatly stimulated. 

PROPAGATION OF THE PLUM, 

Most varieties of plums have come to us as seedlings, selected and 
retained because of their good qualities ; they show development or 
variation from wild types in varying degree, but, with all, the depar- 
ture is such that we cannot reproduce them through the seed, and, in 
order to maintain them, we are forced to adopt other means. 

All varieties are perpetuated by either budding or grafting, usually 
on plum stocks. The kinds available as stocks are various, and ex- 
hibit as great differences as appear between the varieties to be propa- 
gated. No one stock can be regarded as perfectly satisfactory for 
general use with all varieties, and it follows that care and thought 
must be exercised in making choice of what shall be used. 

The character of the soil, whether light or sandy, or verging on 
the other extreme of heavy clay, and the general features of the cli- 
mate will largely govern this choice, but consideration must also be 
given to the characteristics of the varieties to be propagated. 

The desirable varieties have parentage in widely different species, 
each of which has characteristics peculiarly its own. The derivative 
varieties follow more or less closely after the parent species, inherit- 
ing habits, likes, and dislikes, which must be regarded if we achieve 
success in their management. Even among derivatives of the same 
species we may find varieties sufficiently different to call for the use 
of different stocks and different methods of treatment. This would 
be looked for among the varieties that have been under cultivation 
for the longest periods, and is due to the fact that the variation and 
development from the original type has not been along parallel lines. 
Differences in climate, in food supply and in general environment 
have led to divergence, resulting in races which possess distinctive 
and well-marked characters. Some knowledge, therefore, of the his- 
tory and derivation of varieties is essential to the propagator in order 
that he may make intelligent selection of the stock upon which to work 
his profitable varieties. Successful projiagators, well versed in the 
history of varieties and in the principles of culture, will, however, often 
differ in their estimate of available stocks, just as they will differ on 
methods of practice. Strong-growing varieties are not suited to very 
slow-growing stocks, because they overtop them and the trees are 
short-lived. On the other hand, success does not follow the attempt 
to force a slow-growing variety by working it ui^on a rank-growing 
stock. The nearer the variety to be grafted corresponds with the 



116 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

stock to be used in general habit and vigor of growth, the better will 
be the prospects for health and longevity in the tree. 

For the European plums, such as Lombard, Green Gage, and Brad- 
shaw, probably no stock is better than seedlings of some variet)^ of 
the species from which these varieties came — P. domestica. These 
have been in common use for many years, but in recent years have 
been in some degree superseded by Myrobalan stocks (seedlings of 
P. cerasifera, a species of European origin). Myrobalan stocks are 
in common use in European countries, and have rapidly grown in 
favor with our nurserymen, not because better trees can be grown 
upon them, but because it is easier to secure good Myrobalan than 
good domestica stock. Seeds of domestica varieties that will pro- 
duce an even stand of stocks is difficult to obtain, and the Myrobalan, 
which is easier to grow and less liable to injury from parasitic fungi, 
ojffers an acceptable substitute. Some nurserymen import the seeds 
and grow their own stocks ; others find it more profitable to import 
the seedlings. They are usually received during the winter, planted 
in nursery rows in spring, and budded in July and August. 

In the South, the stocks in common use are the Marianna plum 
and the peach, and very diverse opinions as to their relative merits 
have been exi^ressed. Probably the differences arise from varying 
local conditions, for the testimony at hand indicates that on the light 
and dry soils the peach stock does best, while the Myrobalan is better 
suited to the heavier and more moist soils. Even at the North the 
peach meets with some favor as a stock for plums on light soils, but 
it is too tender for districts where severe winters are common. For 
the native varieties. Wolf, Weaver, De Soto, and other derivatives of 
P. americana, the natural inference that americana stocks would be 
best seems to be borne out by experience, but the degree of success 
may depend in a measure upon the seed used. The species is ex- 
tremely variable in general habit and rapidity of growth as well as in 
the fruit produced. 

Seeds from which to grow stocks should be chosen from vigorous, 
free-growing trees only. The progeny of such trees will most nearly 
accord with the varieties to be propagated and better insure the future 
of the tree. Seeds are obtained in the fall, separated from the" pulp, 
mixed with sand, and kept in a cool, moist place during the winter. 
If they can be frozen and thawed several times, so much the better, 
for they will then more readily crack under the pressure of the swell- 
ing embryo. In spring they are sown in seed-beds of deeply stirred, 
rich soil. In the fall the seedlings are lifted, sorted, and i3acked away 
in sand in a cool pit or cellar. The following spring they may be 
planted in nursery rows, to be budded in July and August. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 117 

The commencement of the budding season is determined by the 
maturity of the scion buds to be used ; they are buds of the current 
year's production and must be well matured. Budding may be con- 
tinued as long as the bark will "slip," and this, as well as the matura- 
tion of the scion buds, will be largely influenced by weather conditions. 
The length of the budding season may therefore vary greatly in dif- 
ferent years. Usually, the season with plums is shorter than with 
peaches or apples. About ten days after insertion the buds should 
be examined and the bands loosened, if necessary. Where buds have 
failed to unite the stocks may be rebudded, and this may be repeated 
as often as the length of the season will allow. Late in the fall stocks 
on which buds have failed should be taken up and stored for grafting 
in late winter or early spring. When growth starts in the spring the 
budded stocks must receive jorompt attention. The stock must be 
"headed down," that is, cut off above the bud, and here practice varies 
somewhat. Some growers prefer to cut from four to six inches above 
the bud, while others would at once cut as close to the bud as it is 
safe. The idea in cutting high is to leave a stub which may serve as 
a support to which the shoot from the bud may be tied, the stub be- 
ing removed at the close of the first season's growth. All shoots below 
as well as above the scion bud must be removed ; otherwise they will 
starve the bud by diverting the sap to their own development. Fur- 
ther production of these shoots from the stock will occur, and they 
must be frequently checked in order to secure the best growth of the 
scion. 

By far the greater number of plum trees grown commercially are 
produced by this process of budding. It is the easiest and best way 
when trees are grown in quantity, but as good trees can be produced 
by grafting, and often it is more convenient to graft than to bud. At 
the Colorado station we used both methods and found grafting rather 
more uniformly successful than budding. I am aware that the idea 
is current that stone fruits, and particularly plums, are difficult to 
graft. It is true that certain precautions must be observed that need 
receive little attention when grafting the apple, but, these simple pre- 
cautions taken, the work is no more difficult, and success is as certain 
as with the apple. Of course, the mechanical work of putting scion 
and stock together must be well done, but outside of this there are 
three points upon which success mainly depends: (1) The perfectly 
dormant condition of both stock and scion at the time the operation 
is performed; (2) the protection of the union by coating with wax; 
(8) proper care of the plants between grafting and setting in nursery. 

The work is usually performed during March or April, and may be 
continued so long as the dormant condition can be maintained. 



118 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

Plums, however, start growth under slight stimulus, and a few warm 
days will end the work, even when all ordinary precautions have been 
taken. It is best to commence early enough, so that the finish need 
not be hurried by the weather conditions. 

Scions must not only be dormant, but must be neither wilted from 
drying, nor water soaked from being kept too wet. Sometimes it is 
convenient to take them from the trees as wanted; more frequently 
they will be cut late in the fall, or come from a distance, and the 
question of how to keei3 them will present itself. They may be kept 
in an outside cellar or j)it, packed in dry leaves, or in moss that is 
but slightly damp. The aim should be simply to provide conditions 
that will prevent the loss of moisture, without affording opportunity 
for the absorption of an excess. 

The particular method of grafting to be used is much a matter of 
taste. Several are available, among which the four following are 
named in the order of the writer's preference : Veneer, side, whip, and 
cleft. The side-graft is probably in more general use than any of the 
others, but after several years' experience with all of them we are in- 
clined to favor the veneer method as giving the most perfect union. 

It is not our purpose to here discuss the principles of grafting, but 
may remark that in all grafting no union takes place between cut sur- 
faces of the wood. It is only through the adjustment of the cambium 
of the scion to that of the stock that union is secured, and here it is 
not a union between cells existing at the time the grafting is done, 
but through new cells formed in extension of the cambium, which is 
the only channel of communication between leaves and roots. This 
being true, it seems reasonable that the less the area of cut-wood sur- 
faces the better. The minimum of cut wood is secured by the veneer 
graft, which only exposes the wood in the oblique transverse cuts at 
the apex of the stock and the base of the scion. The one valid objec- 
that may be urged against the veneer graft is that the scion is easily 
displaced. It is easily displaced if carelessly tied, but with reasonable 
care no trouble need be feared. 

Whatever the method used, the union should be thoroughly cov- 
ered with some protective wax. A liquid wax, to be applied with a 
brush, is most convenient, and, of several preparations, one known as 
"alcoholic plastic" answers the purpose admirably. It is made as 
follows : One pound of resin and one ounce of tallow melted together ; 
remove from the fire, and, after cooling slightly, but while still liquid, 
add eight fluid ounces of alcohol and stir thoroughly. This prepara- 
tion must be kept in a corked bottle or other closed vessel to prevent 
the evaporation of the alcohol. After waxing, the grafted stocks 
should be returned to the cellar and kept at as low a temperature as 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 119 

possible without freezing until the time arrives for setting in nursery. 
The roots may be placed in damp sand, but the scions should be sub- 
jected to such a degree of moisture only as will prevent drying out. 
The practice as here outlined is successfully followed in our station 
work. In all grafting of plums, the scion should be set low on the 
crown, so that when jjlanted in the nursery the union may be placed 
well below the surface. 

The plum is seldom worked above the ground, and there seems to 
be nothing in the practice to commend it for practical purposes. If 
it is attempted, it should only be with varieties of close affinity, and 
trees of equal vigor. Scions from a slow growing tree cannot keep 
IDace with the branches of a strong grower, and if the strong scion is 
worked on the slower stock it soon outgrows it and the wind breaks 
it off. A scion of Indiana Red worked on a wild americana stock 
three feet above the ground produced a straight whij) five feet and 
four inches long ; three feet above the union the new growth had the 
same diameter as the stock at the ground. It yielded to a moderate 
wind. Sometimes, when new varieties are procured for trial, a few 
scions are worked on old trees of some aniei'icana variety, with a 
view to obtaining fruit quickly. Thus, trees of Ogon, planted in 1894, 
have not yet fruited, because the tops have killed back every year, 
but scions from the same trees, taken at the time of j)lanting and 
worked on americana, have given us fruit for four seasons. Several 
other varieties treated in the same manner at the same time have 
fruited, but all, or nearly all, are now dead. 

PRUNING, 

Plums are pruned for the purpose of forming and maintaining a 
symmetrical, well-balanced top. Five or six branches, equally distrib- 
uted about the stem and having some vertical separation, are selected 
to serve as a framework of the top. All others are removed and the 
leader is shortened. The branches retained should be cut back to 
some extent, but this, as well as the shortening of the leader, must be 
determined for each tree, being dependent upon the root system and 
the apparent vigor. In shortening the branches and leader, the cuts 
should be made with reference to selected buds so jilaced that the fu- 
ture extension may be in the right direction. During the summer 
rub off shoots that start where they are not wanted, and pinch the tips 
of rampant branches. The second spring, before growth starts, the 
shoots produced the previous year should be shortened to encourage 
the production of secondary, interior branches, and the third year this 
is repeated. From now on no pruning is needed, except to remove 
branches starting from wrong places and to control the too vigorous 
branches. This is best done by summer pinching, and, in general, it 



120 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

may be said that the less the knife is used on plum trees the better it 
is for the trees. Most varieties require very little pruning after the 
head is once formed. 

SOILS. 

Plums will adapt themselves to almost any soil that would be chosen 
for apples or pears. Doniestica varieties are perhaps best on heavy 
clay, and choice may be more restricted with them than with most 
other sorts. The native varieties are suited to a wide range of soils, 
but no tree will do well on wet, mucky soils, and, as the plum is a rank 
feeder and a heavy bearer, the soil must be of good fertility. 

IRRIGATION. 

Frequency in the application of water is so entirely dependent 
upon the character of the soil that no rule can be made to govern it. 
How best to irrigate must be learned by experience for each orchard. 
In a general way, it may be said that young trees require more water 
the first season than is necessary in succeeding years. Trees that are 
bearing, however, should receive almost if not quite as much as young 
trees ; it is necessary for the best development of the fruit. The soil 
of the Colorado station orchard is quite compact ; water does not 
spread quickly, and each irrigation is prolonged for a greater time 
than would be necessary on more porous soils. When water is avail- 
able, we aim to apply it once in ten days for young trees ; somewhat 
less frequently for" those older. 

The efPects of drought during July and August are frequently seen 
in small, inferior fruit. Reasonable care in the application of water 
during this period will well repay the trouble in the increased quan- 
tity and better quality of fruit. It is, however, possible to apply an 
excess that may work as great injury as the most severe drought. It 
is only by studying the appearance of the trees and the condition of 
the soil that we can arrive at a correct adjustment of the quantity to 
be applied and the time to apply it. It is the practice at the Colorado 
station to withhold water after the 1st of September, in order to check 
growth and allow the wood to ripen. If growing conditions are main- 
tained through the fall, the young and succulent wood of even the 
hardiest varieties is in danger of being killed by low winter tempera- 
tures, but if well ripened it survives the extremes without injury. 

Twice within the last six years we have had open winters that 
proved more productive of injury to trees than those of continuous 
cold. There were long periods of warm weather, with no frost in the 
ground, and no precipitation to supply the continuous evaporation. 
The soil became very dry and the trees suffered in consequence. To 
guard as much as possible against such injury, it is the practice to 
give a late irrigation usually in November. If the ground can be 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 121 

well saturated at this time it is of advantage to the orchard, whether 
the months following be cold or warm. If warm, the soil will not so 
soon become dry, and danger from this source is lessened ; if cold and 
the soil be continuously frozen, the moisture is retained and the con- 
ditions for spring growth improved. 

The system practiced is to furrow for each irrigation, using a one- 
horse plow and turning from the trees on both sides of the row. 
Water is run in the furrows for from twelve to thirty-six hours, ac- 
cording to the supply available and the condition of the soil. As 
soon as practicable after irrigating, a harrow is used to close the fur- 
row and smooth the surface. The aim is to keep a constant mulch of 
loose soil on the surface, so as to check evaporation as far as possible. 

PLANTING DISTANCE. 

The most common practice is to plant 15x15 feet, but this is too 
close for fully developed trees of spreading habit. A better plan is 
to plant 15x20 feet, or to adopt the accepted California practice and 
allow 20x20 feet. There seems to be a decided preference for low- 
headed trees, on the ground that they are less liable to injury from 
winds, and that less trunk is exposed to the action of the sun. With 
low-headed trees the disadvantages of close planting are more quickly 
apparent. The best-formed trees are those headed at from thirty to 
thirty-six inches from the ground, and this is the distance we prefer. 

Young trees are frequently injured by what are known as " frost 
cracks " — a longitudinal splitting of bark and wood on the south side 
of the trunk, occurring in late winter or early spring, and attributable 
to the extreme daily range of temperature which often occurs at that 
season. To guard against this injury, the trunks should be protected 
in some way. Various devices have been used, but we found wrap- 
ping with burlap the most effective and least expensive. Burlap that 
had been used for baling was purchased at dry-goods stores for two 
cents per pound, and cut into four-inch strips three and four feet 
long ; one pound giving an average of nine strips. These are wound 
spirally on the trunks, being held at the top by a lap and by tying 
with cord at the bottom. One man can cover from fifty to sixty trees 
per hour, with the material prepared and ready at hand. The cover- 
ing is applied in November and removed in April or May. The same 
bands will serve for two or three seasons. The whole cost is less than 
one cent per tree, and will repay the trouble. 

ARRANGEMENT OF VARIETIES. 

The Wild Goose plum has long been regarded as infertile when 
isolated, and the same complaint has occasionally been made regard- 
ing other varieties, but the experiments carried on by Professor 
Waugh, of Vermont, in 1896 and 1897, indicate that the actual extent 



122 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

of self-sterility among varieties of plums has by no means been ap- 
preciated or even suspected. His tabulation shows that of 6428 blos- 
soms covered, on fifty-six varieties, representing all classes of plums, 
only five produced fruits, and from the experiments he draws the con- 
clusion that "for all practical purposes, all classes and varieties of 
native plums may be regarded as absolutely self-sterile.*' It is possi- 
ble that these results might vary with diflPerent seasons and in differ- 
ent localities, but, making due allowance for possible variations, the 
results are startling enough to warrant the attention of plum growers 
everywhere. The cause of this sterility appears to lie largely in the 
inefficiency of the pollen of the flowers of a plant upon the stigmas 
of the flowers of the same plant. It lies in a condition known to ex- 
ist among many wild as well as cultivated plants. One of nature's 
provisions for securing cross-fertilization, and the plants come under 
the recognized Knight's law that "nature intended that a sexual inter- 
course should take place between neighboring plants of the same 
species." 

Self-sterility may also be due in some degree to imperfect pistils, 
the cause for which must be sought in some physiological weakness 
of the tree, such as might be brought about by the work of insects 
or disease, or from a feeble condition following the production of a 
phenomenally heavy crop of fruit. Or it may be due to unfavorable 
weather conditions prevailing at blooming time. 

Recognizing, then, the existence of self-sterility among plums, the 
aim should be to so associate the varieties that one may supply pollen 
for the other. No data are at hand to warrant any definite statement 
as to what varieties are especially adapted to the fertilization of certain 
other varieties, but it is perfectly plain that to be of use to each other 
the varieties must bloom at the same time. 

The varieties now available from which to choose show a rather 
wide range in blooming period; some bloom together, some finish 
before others begin, and some overlap. All are much influenced by 
the weather at the time, and this may vary greatly in different years, 
not only in the appearance of the first flowers, but in the length of 
the blooming period. While irregularities may occur from one season 
to another, it is probable that the relative periods of the different 
varieties will remain much the same. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 123 



BLACK-KNOT OF THE PLUM AND CHERRY. 

From Bulletin of the Tennessee Experiment Station. 

The black-knot of the pliira and cherry is one of the most striking 
and familiar of the fungous diseases which attack our cultivated plants. 
That it is a fungous disease there is no longer any question, although 
for a long time the trouble was thought by many to be due to the at- 
tacks of insects. It is a parasitic plant, belonging to the great group 
of plants called fungi, that causes the development of the black knots, 
and its characters and habits have been closely studied by mycologists, 
and are now very well understood. 

In the Eastern and Middle states this disease is of common occur- 
rence, and is often very destructive. Wild plum and cherry trees are 
attacked by the disease, and from these it may spread to the culti- 
vated sorts; the disease may also be carried to new localities by the 
introduction of unhealthy nursery stock. 

The knots are often very large, and not infrequently they com- 
pletely surround the branches. The surface of the knots is black, 
more or less irregular, and free from bark, excepting, perhaps, here 
and there a fragment which has been carried up with their growth. 
Around the base of the knots one will find the raised and broken 
edges of the bark of the branch, showing that they (the knots) origi- 
nated beneath it. If closely examined, the surface of the mature 
knots will be seen to be studded with slightly elevated and rounded 
projections, imparting to it a pimply appearance. Each one of these 
little jpimples represents a fruit of the fungus, which is many, many 
seeded. 

They have thick, black walls, and at the top of each is a small open- 
ing through which the seeds, or spores, as the seeds of fungi are called, 
escape when ripe. In the interior, or cavity formed by the fruit walls, 
there are a great number of delicate, elongated sacks, and it is within 
these that the minute spores are formed, usually eight in each sack. 
Each sack is hardly more than one three-hundredth of an inch long 
or high. The spores, which consist of two cells of very unequal size, 
are, of course, exceedingly minute. 

The description just given is that of the mature stage in the devel- 
oijment of the fungus. There are other and earlier stages, in which 
spores or rei^roductive bodies quite unlike those just described are 
produced. One kind is borne on dark, olive-green stalks, which, dur- 
ing the period of their formation, cover the knots so thickly that their 
surfaces resemble silk plush or velvet. 

Other sjDores, supposed to belong to this fungus of black-knot, are 



124 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

formed within cavities in the substance of the fungus similar to those 
in which those of the mature stage are produced. These are termed 
stylospores. 

Some time during the summer the spores of the black-knot fungus, 
which have found lodgment in the crevices of the bark of the trees, 
germinate and push their germ-tubes into the cambium or growing 
layer just underneath the bark, and the action of the fungus growth 
upon the living cells of the cambium excite these into rapid and ir- 
regular development, resulting finally in the production of the well- 
known knots. By autumn the increased growth of the cambium is 
often externally manifest as a slight swelling along the branches; 
little change occurs during the winter, but in the spring following 
the swellings begin to enlarge rapidly, and often attain their full size 
in a few weeks. 

The bark covering the forming knots expands for a time with their 
growth, but is finally burst asunder, exposing the diseased tissues 
composing them. The fungus itself continues alive and active 
throughout the summer and following winter, when the spores of the 
mature stage, referred to above, are produced, after which the parasite 
dies, and there is left a mass of open, dead tissues which ofPer protec- 
tion and support to various insects that are likely to add to the injury 
already occasioned. 

The fungus of black-knot is remarkably well supplied with means 
for reproduction, each spore produced being capable of developing a 
new fungus growth and consequent "knot," if it falls under proper 
conditions. To prevent this spread of the disease, we ought to remove 
and destroy at once the knots wherever they may appear, both from 
our orchards and from all wild trees that may be growing in the 
vicinity. The knots on a single wild tree may yield spores enough 
to infect the cultivated trees of an entire county. Badly diseased 
trees of either sort should be cut down and the knots burned or other- 
wise destroyed at once. When there is only here and there a branch 
that is diseased, these alone may be removed with a saw or knife, the 
knots destroyed, and the trees then disinfected by a thorough washing 
with Bordeaux mixture, or, if the work be done in the winter, with a 
very strong (30 to 50 per cent.) solution of sulphate of iron. These 
solutions, if well applied with a strong force-pump, will doubtless 
destroy or at least prevent the germination of any of the fungus 
spores that may bo resting on the bark awaiting suitable conditions 
for development. The same solutions, if applied directly to the 
newly developed knots, would probably prevent the formation of the 
spores, but would not be likely to check the growth of the fungus 
occupying the deeper tissues. The spread of the disease might thus 
be prevented, but the injury then going on could not be checked. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 125 

The knots ought to be removed on account of the attraction they 
offer to insects, if for no other reason. When the swellings appear 
on the larger limbs and trunks of the trees, cut them out carefully, 
extending the cut from two to three inches above and below the 
knots, and then paint the wounds, first with a strong solution of iron 
sulphate, and then with some oil paint. From the contagious char- 
acter of the disease, it can be stamped out only by concerted action, 
and the extent of the losses which it may occasion when well estab- 
lished make it a subject for state consideration. Now is the time to 
take action on this matter. Our fruit interests are too important not 
to demand the protection which the state can give by stamping out 
the disease in the sections where it now exists, and by preventing its 
further introduction through diseased nursery stock. 



REMEDIES FOR BLACK-KNOT. 

From Bulletin No. 81 of the Now York Expei'iment Station. 

Many remedies for the black-knot have been suggested but none 
has proved to be efficient. The most generally recommended pre- 
ventive measure is to cut out the knots and destroy them. This 
work should be done as soon as the knot is observed, and if well car- 
ried out it is an excellent method of exterminating the disease. 

Since fungicides have come into use, spraying for the black-knot 
has been recommended. The conclusions drawn by Maynard from 
the experiments of one season recorded by him w^ere that "the num- 
ber of warts were very decidedly less where treated with the copijer 
mixture than where untreated, . . . and we believe that the plum 
wart may be held in check by this remedy." 

A thicket of Morello cherries which had been treated during two 
seasons produced only 165 knots. From another portion of the same 
thicket which had not been treated there were cut 2002 knots on 
April 25. On November 26 of the same year, this j)ortion yielded 
8166 new knots, an increase of nearly fifty-eight per cent. Had the 
sprayed portion remained untreated, it may be supposed that a similar 
increase would have taken place in this part, making the assured 
number cut within a fraction of 2000. The reduction of the number 
of knots from 2000 to 165, considering the present state of our knowl- 
edge and the conditions under which the experiment was carried on, 
is encouraging, and point to a final control of the disease. 

Some of the applications which now appear necessary for the con- 
trol of the black-knot are to be made when other diseases require treat- 
ment. This necessitates but little extra labor in spraying for the 
prevention of the knot. - 



126 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

The spraying of plums and cherries to protect them from the black- 
knot fungus, as stated, can be carried on with profit in all sections 
where this disease threatens to interfere seriously with the profitable 
cultivation of these fruits. 

BORDEAUX MIXTURE. 

Copper sulphate 6 pounds. 

Quicklime 4 " 

Water 40 gallons. 

Dissolve the copper sulphate by putting it in a bag of coarse cloth and hang- 
ing this in a vessel holding at least four gallons, so that it is just covered by the 
water. Use an earthen or wooden renscl. Slake the lime in an equal amount 
of water. Then mix the two and add enough water to make forty gallons. It is 
then ready for immediate use. For rots, molds, mildews, and all fungous dis- 
eases. 

AMMONIACAL COPPER CARBONATE. 

Copper carbonate 1 ounce. 

Ammonia enough to dissolve the copper. 

Water 9 gallons. 

The copper carbonate is best dissolved in large bottles, where it will keep in- 
definitely, and it should be diluted with water as required. For same purpose as 
Bordeaux. 

COPPER SULPHATE SOLUTION. 

Copper sulphate 1 pound. 

Water 15 gallons. 

Dissolve the copper sulphate in the water, when it is ready for use. This 
should never he applied lo folie(f/e, hut must he used before the huels break. 
For peaches and nectarines, use twenty-four gallons of water. For fungous dis- 
eases. 

PARIS GREEN. 

Paris green 1 pound. 

Water 250 gallons. 

If this mixture is to be used upon peach trees, one pound of quicklime should 
be added. Repeated applications will injure most foliage, unless lime is added. 
Paris green and Bordeaux can be eipjilieel together with perfect safety. The 
action of neither is weakened, and the Paris green loses all caustic properties. 
For insects which chew. 

LONDON PURPLE. 

This is used in the same proportion as Paris green, but, as it is more caustic, 
it should be applied with the lime, or with the Bordeaux mixture. Do not use 
it on peach or plum trees. For insects which chew. 

HELLEBORE. 

Fresh white hellebore 1 ounce. 

Water 3 gallons. 

Apply when thoroughly mixed. For insects which chew. 

KEROSENE EMULSION. 

Hard soap > pound. 

Boiling water 1 gallon. 

Kerosene 2 " 

Dissolve the soap in the water, add the kerosene, and churn with a pump for 
five to ten minutes. Dilute ten to fifteen times before applying. For insects 
which suck, cabbage-worms, and all insects which have soft bodies. 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 127 



OTHER PLUM-TREE DISEASES. 

From Bulletin No. 92, North Carolina Experiment Station. 
POCKETS OR BLADDERS. 

Plum pockets, or plum bladders, as it is indiflPerently called, is a 
disease produced by a fungous parasite. This disease is probably of 
foreign origin, but is now naturalized in America wherever the plum 
is grown. It attacks the light-colored plums with greatest virulence. 
The Wild Goose and Marianna are esiDecially suscej)tible, but the 
Japanese varieties seem exempt so far. The disease attacks the leaves 
and branches, also producing a sort of blight very similar in appear- 
ance to the blight of peach twigs, which is, however, caused by a 
different fungus. On the fruit it causes the recently formed plums 
to swell out and become hollow, producing what are aptly called 
bladders. Such fruits soon fall to the ground. The sjjores of the 
fungus pass the winter in the diseased twigs and probably also upon 
the remnants of the rotten fruit on the ground and in the fallen leaves. 

Remedies : Collect and burn all leaves as soon as possible after they have 
fallen. Cut back severely all branches or twigs which have borne diseased fruit, 
or which show the blight-like blackening. Early in spring, as soon as the flower- 
buds begin to burst, sprinkle the ground under the trees with air-slaked lime. 
Spray before the buds start with the Bordeaux or copper sulphate mixtures di- 
luted one-third more than the formula gives. 

SHOT-HOLE DISEASE. 

Like the other stone fruits, the plum is subject to a fungous leaf 
parasite which produces small black spots, which soon wither and fall 
away, leaving the leaf full of small, round holes, sometimes called 
"shot holes." The fungus passes the winter in the fallen leaves of the 
preceding year. It does not attack the fruit or twigs. 

Reniedirs: Rake up and burn all leaves as soon as they fall. In spring spray 
with diluted Bordeaux or sulphate mixtures as soon as the leaves are one-half 
grown, and repeat in two weeks. Usually two treatments will be sufficient. 

POWDERY MILDEW. 

This fungus works entirely on the surface of the leaves, drawing 
its nourishment from the cells by means of minute suckers called 
haustorJa. Badly affected leaves appear as if dusted with a white 
powder and this suggested the common name. The fungus does not 
usually appear until late in summer. 

Reuiedies: Being on the surface, it is easily reached by any of the fungicides 
in common use. Finely powdered sulphur, which has been successfully used iu 
combating the closely related powdery mildew of the grape, would probably be 
equally effective in destroying this parasite. 



128 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

LEAF RUST QR BLIGHT. 

A disease which causes the leaves of the plum to fall off in summer ; 
is sometimes common during dry weather. This is caused by a fungous 
parasite which attacks the leaves only, producing red or yellow spots 
which soon spread all over the leaf. The fungus lives through the 
winter in the fallen leaves. 

Hcinrd/rs: Rake up and burn all leaves as soon as they fall; spray the leaves 
as indicated for shot-hole fungus. 

BROWN ROT OF PLUMS. 
From Bulletin of Virginia Experiment Station. 

Concerning brown rot we may say that only the most persistent effort 
can hold this fungus in check. As all growers have observed, decayed 
fruits hang to the twigs and persist over winter. It is from these, in 
the early days of spring, that an abundant crop of spores is born, 
and the petals of the flowers, young leaves, and even many branches, 
are attacked. These mummied fruits also hang on all summer, and 
continue to produce spores. Hence, by the time the fruits become 
half grown or begin to mature, the infecting spores may come from 
the old, decayed fruits of the previous year or from more recent in- 
fection on the young growth of the current year. Whenever the fruit 
has become badly attacked, treatment is quite useless. 

The proper plan is to remove all decayed fruit from the orchard 
when the trees are free from foliage, as it can be easily seen at this 
time; then, before the buds swell in the spring, wash the trees thor- 
oughly with a solution of concentrated lye or of sulphate of copper. 
The first solution should be made by dissolving eight cans of lye in 
fifty gallons of water, and the copper sulphate solution by dissolving 
two pounds copper sulphate (bluestone) in fifty gallons of water. I 
consider the lye preferable, but the latter may be somewhat pleasanter 
to handle. This washing is very important, and, perhaps, does as 
much real good as all later work. 

The later washings should be given as follows ; Weak Bordeaux, 
just as the color shows plainly in the bloom-buds, and repeated soon 
as bloom has fallen. If the work is well done to this point, very little 
infection will have survived. Concerning value of later sprayings 
I am very much in doubt. If the early washing is not well done, I 
have almost no faith in later treatment. 

All washing or treatment of orchards should be done with a spray 
pumj). Poor, half work is usually a dead loss. 

CRACKED PLUMS. 

We find some complaint of this nature, probably the result of the 
climatic conditions and irrigation combined. Some of the cases are 
rather serious, and may result in loss ; others simply hurt the looks of 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. ' 129 

the first fruit and cannot be noticed when the fruit is cured, except 
now and then a piece where a hard spot may possibly be noticed. 
We have not noticed any cases of the brown rot of the prune to 
which our attention has been called from the southern districts, but 
something similar in a few trees of young apricots. Such cases 
should be marked and a spray of Bordeaux mixture applied next 
spring which will destroy the germs of the rot. 

PLUM-TREE FUNGUS. 

The fungus may be looked for from the time of flowering till the 
fruit is mature, says Professor Pammel, of the Iowa Agricultural Col- 
lege. Much may be done by removing the diseased plums from the 
trees in the autumn. I have made observation on this fungus for a 
number of years and am certain that it is much more troublesome 
where mummied plums remain on the tree. Some years ago I observed 
the fungus upon the flowers. It attacked the petals, stamens, and 
pistil. Soon the whole branch became affected with this blight. In 
a few days not a single healthy flower remained on the tree. It was 
also noticed to start from certain parts of the tree. I soon located 
the cause in the old monilia-attacked plums which were hanging on 
the trees. In quite a number of cases the starting-point was thus 
found to be in these old, diseased plums. The object-lesson is plain : 
remove all of the diseased plums in the fall. Horticulturists often 
overlook this important jwint in the treatment of diseases. Rubbish 
heaps containing the spores of fungi are too often neglected. They 
should be burned. 

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE PLUM. 

POULTRY AND PLUMS. 

A writer in the Poultry Messenge?' says: "The prairie region of 
the West seems to be the home of the plum. This fruit is found in 
a wild state in the greatest abundance along the river bluffs and every 
place where there is natural timber. And yet the cultivated plums 
always meet with ready sale in towns and villages. Many of the 
cultivated varieties are natives, improved, of course, by careful selec- 
tion and propagation. They are the equal of the best California va- 
rieties, and, owing to their greater freshness when placed on the 
market, are generally preferred to them by consumers. They are the 
easiest to grow of all the tree fruits in this section of the country. 
And they do best when grown in the midst of the runs given to the 
poultry. The insects which war against the fruit are choice delicacies 
for the fowls, and but few of the most destructive of these insects 
will escape their sharp eyes when they have constant access to the 
—9 



130 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

ground. The people who give free run to their poultry, and those as 
well who keei3 it confined, if they have ground room suitable for the 
growth of f)lum trees, are throwing away dollars in not planting plum 
trees. Under right management the fruit can be made to pay for the 
keep of the hens, leaving all returns from them net profit. Plums 
cannot be successfully grown in all localities, but there is no question 
about their success within the territory above named, and every one 
can have the profit of them who will reach forth his hand to take it." 

PLUMS IN THE CHICKEN YARD. 

A writer in the Indiana Farmer says: "Theories vanish by the 
side of facts in every avocation. I have at the present writing three 
Robinson plum trees loaded with ripening fruit and two others with 
not a plum left. The five trees were set on the same kind of ground 
seven years ago and have had the same culture. The same results 
have been derived for the past three years, the three trees bearing a 
full crop of sound plums, and the two a crop of wormy fruit — worth- 
less. The three fruiting trees are in the chicken yard ; the others 
outside. The ground in said yard is not plowed, but early in the 
spring is swept and kept hard and smooth. Under these trees I scat- 
ter bran and screenings, and 'biddy' does the work of eating the 
pestiferous insects. While looking for the little seeds and specs of 
bran she garnishes her food with the spicy curculio. I know this to 
be true, for I have the evidence. Now, for seven varieties of plums, 
I must speak a good word for the Robinson. It always produces. I 
have Wild Goose, Marianna, English Blue, Lombard, Pmmis simonii, 
etc., but the Robinson gives me the only crop in this year of 1898. I 
have been out with saw and lumber this morning and propped up the 
limbs that are hanging almost to the ground with tempting fruit. 
Even the chicken yard is not a sure defense with other varieties this 
year, but the Robinson, where plenty of fowls are enclosed and fed, 
will not disappoint the planter." 

CHICKENS IN THE PLUM ORCHARD. 

One cannot live on a fruit farm and allow the chickens full range 
during the summer, for they are very destructive to grapes and the 
smaller fruits. As one of our plum orchards extended quite close to 
the chicken-house, we decided to fence off one part of the orchard with 
six-foot wire netting, with the following results : Plums have been 
almost a total failure with us for the past three years, except within 
the part fenced off. Some trees within the chicken yard bore as high 
as five crates last year, while all bore a good crop. The row just out- 
side of the fence bore perhaps one-half of a good crop, while the next 
row and the remainder of the orchard bore from a few boxes to noth- 
ing at all. Trees within the yard this spring are looking much brighter 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 131 

and made a far better growth than the remainder of the orchard, and 
at this writing, May 3, the fruit is set much heavier. Now, as to the 
reason, I can only say that chickens are great cultivators, scratching 
and enriching the soil. All the summer through the ground is kept 
moist and free from weeds. Some say the chickens eat the bugs and 
cause a great crop of fruit. There is nothing in that at all. It is very 
true a chicken will eat the curculio, but that does not cause the tree 
to set fruit. In conclusion, I would say fence ofP your plum orchard 
for a chicken yard, and the heavy crops will more than pay the price 
of fencing. At the present time all of our plum orchards — Burbank, 
Abundance, Miner, and Wild Goose — have set fruit, with a fair pros- 
pect of maturing a croj). — M. E. C, in Kansas Farmer. 

PLUM CURCULIO. 
From Bulletin No. 65, Utah Experiment Station. 

This pest is very injurious to plums, cherries, peaches, and apricots. 
The mature insect is a dull gray, rough-backed beetle, about three- 
sixteenths of an inch long. As soon as the tiny fruits are formed the 
female beetle is on hand to "sting" them. "Stinging" consists of the 
female puncturing the skin, then depositing an egg in the puncture, 
and cutting a crescent-shaped slit at one side and beneath the egg. 
It is then in a little flap and will not be crushed by the development 
of the fruit. In about a week the egg hatches and the larva tunnels 
to the pit, where it feeds for from three to five weeks, and then escapes 
and enters the ground to a depth of a few inches. Here it transforms 
to the pupa stage, from which it changes to a mature insect in three 
or four weeks. The beetle spends the winter under any rubbish or 
under the rough bark of trees. 

Iie)ncdii: The universal practice is to catch the beetles by jarring. There 
are several methods of doing this, the most ordinary of which is to spread a sheet 
or pieces of canvass on the ground beneath the tree and strike the limbs with a 
padded mallet. When disturbed the insects "play 'possum," and drop on the 
sheet, from which they are readily collected and destroyed. 

A more improved method used in commercial orchards is a two-wheeled cart 
upon which is built a light frame in the position of the ribs of an inverted um- 
brella. Over this frame is spread a canvas, the center part of which is two or 
more feet lower than the edge. The canvas has an opening at the center, below 
which is fastened a zinc box about one foot in length, breadth, and depth. On 
the front side of the canvas is an opening wide enough to accommodate the 
trunk when the cart is pushed under the tree. A few jars with a padded mallet 
dislodge the beetles and they drop on the canvas from which they are swept into 
the box below, after which they may be killed in whatever manner is most con- 
venient. The jarring should be begun as soon as the petals fall and be continued 
as long as any insects are caught. It is best done in the morning while the in- 
sects are quiet; later in the day they become active and fly away when dis- 
turbed. 

Spraying with poisons is also reccommended, but with varying results, by 
different experimenters. Paris green, London purple, or green arsenoid, one 



132 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

pound, with from three to five pounds of freshly slaked lime, in 250 gallons of 
water, should be applied first when the leaf-buds are opening. The second ap- 
plication should be given as soon as the petals fall, and a third about ten days 
later. The poison may be combined with Bordeaux mixture at the rate of one 
pound to 250 gallons when the latter is used against the shot-hole fungus. 

ANOTHER CURCULIO CATCHER. 
Orange Judd Farmer. 

The curculio attacking quinces, lolums, peaches and a few other 
fruits is but little affected by spraying mixtures of any kind. The 
mouth-parts of the insect are elongated in the form of a beak, and 
when the curculio damages the fruit, very little if any of the poison- 
ous substances which may have been applied in the spraying solution 
is taken into the system. The most effective means of combating the 
insect, therefore, is to take advantage of its habit of dropping to the 
ground when alarmed. If a cloth is spread under the tree and the 
limbs struck with some kind of a pole, the insects will droj) at once 
onto the sheet and can be collected and destroyed. 

Placing the sheet about the trees is a slow process. Consequently, 
the Cornell station has suggested a device It consists of an arrange- 
ment built on the plan of a double-wheeled wheelbarrow with much 
elongated axle. On this is arranged a number of projecting arms ra- 
diating from a point midway between the two wheels. A canvas or 
any kind of cloth is attached to these arms, with an opening on the 
far side large enough to admit the trunk of the tree. This is very 
inexpensive and easily built. 

The time to begin jarring is still a question, but as the curculio 
are usually more active in the early morning, possibly the work had 
best be done then. These beetles begin operations as early as May, 
and it will not do to delay jarring them much after they appear. 
Some years they will not appear until the latter part of July. Those 
who practice this method successfully jar the trees every day until 
the numbers are so small that they do not affect the fruit seriously. 
In one orchard, noted by the Cornell station in 1897, 200 curculio 
were jarred from seven trees, and it is not uncommon to get as high 
as fifty from one tree at a single jarring. This process involves con- 
siderable labor and expense, but it costs only about fifteen to twenty 
cents per tree for one season. After the insects are captured they can 
be destroyed by the most convenient method. Some put them in 
kerosene or boiling water, while others have a charcoal stove built for 
the purpose, in which everything that falls on the sheet is burned. 

A CURCULIO PREVENTIVE. 
Rural World, 

Clear the ground under the trees of undergrowth of any nature, 
then stir the soil about one inch deep, and apply on top (in early 
spring, before any fruit is set, or, if soil will permit the working, before 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 133 

bloom falls) the following: One bushel of air-slaked lime, one bushel 
of wood ashes, two pounds of concentrated lye, two pounds of cop- 
peras, ten pounds of sulj^hur, one package of salt ; mix with a hoe, 
and apply through an old sieve. Protect the hands while applying it, 
or they will sufPer much. 

PLUM-TREE APHIS. 
From Bulletin No. 65, Utah Experiment Station. 

The plum-tree aphis lives over winter in the egg stage. The eggs 
hatch early in spring into a generation of wingless females, known as 
"stem-mothers," which soon attain maturity and begin to produce 
living young. This second generation is also entirely females, and 
they, in turn, produce female young. After this manner the succeed- 
ing generations are all females until the last generation of the season, 
which contains males. The sexes then mate and the females lay their 
eggs on the twigs and buds, for hatching early the following spring 
into the "stem-mothers."' If at any time during the season the colo- 
nies of aphids become crowded, or the food supply becomes limited, 
then winged young are brought forth, and they fly to other host plants 
and start new colonies. 

The aphids congregate on the under sides and suck their food, the 
sap, from the leaves. As soon as they begin their work the leaves 
crumple up and the edges turn under, thus partially covering up and 
protecting the lice. When this condition occurs it is extremely diffi- 
cult to reach the insect with the spraying solution. The time to spray 
them is just as soon as the young lice appear in the sjDring, and before 
the leaves begin to crumple and the edges to turn under. 

The black aphids of the plum collect on the tijss of the new 
shoots, and in case they are securely located before spraying has been 
done, it is probably best to cut off the infested tips, and burn them. 
In this way thousands of the lice will be destroyed. 

Remed)! : Some remedy must be used which kills by contact, and of these 
there are several, as mentioned below. Whichever mixture is used must be ap- 
plied early in spring, when the first generation hatches, and as often thereafter 
as it is necessary to keep the lice in check. The spraying must be done thor- 
oughly, directing the spray so it will drench the lower side of the leaves. Whale- 
oil soap, one pound to seven gallons of water. Kerosene emulsion, one gallon to 
from ten to fifteen gallons of water. 

• NATURAL ENEMIES OF THE APHIDS. 

There are several insects which ^feed upon plant-lice, the most 
prominent of which are several species of the ladybird beetle. Both 
the mature beetle and its larvte feed upon the aphids, and thus are 
friends to the fruit-grower. A ladybird beetle should never be in- 
jured. Other predaceous enemies are the larv?e of the syrphus fly, 
and the aphis lion or larvse of a lace-winged fly. There are also a 
few parasitic insects which destroy many plant-lice. 



134 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 

FRUIT-TREE BARK-BEETLE. 
Press Bulletin No. 14, Kansas ExperiiBent Station. 

Of tlie insects that have been introduced into Kansas during the 
past few years, none seem to be more destructive to stone-fruit trees 
than the fruit-tree bark-beetle, or shot-hole borer, as it is sometimes 
called, from its peculiar habit of riddling the bark of the trees with 
numerous small holes. It has been found in Riley, Bourbon and 
Allen counties, and without doubt is present in a large number of the 
other counties of the state. In Allen county it was very numerous, 
particularly in an orchard of cherry trees which were suffering badly 
from the cherry scale. 

The presence of the pest will probably be first shown by the wilt- 
ing and falling of the leaves at an unseasonable time. A close ex- 
amination of the tree infested with the insect will reveal numerous 
small holes in the bark, from which, in the case of the stone-fruit 
trees, such as the plum, peach, cherry, etc., there is a considerable 
exudation of gum. To show how Ihe insect may riddle a tree, a piece 
of bark less than an inch square, taken from an infested cherry tree, 
contained nineteen perforations about the size of a pin -head. 

The insect that is the cause of the mischief is a small beetle about 
one-tenth of an inch in length by about one-third as wide. It is 
black in color, with the exception of tlie wing- covers and the lower 
part of the legs, which are reddish. 

With the beginning of spring the beetles appear, and commence to 
bore small, round holes through the bark to the sap-wood, where they 
make a central burrow or brood chamber, on each side of which little 
pockets are made, in which eggs are deposited. As the larvpe hatch 
from the eggs they commence to make burrows away from and at 
right angles to the brood chamber, which become larger as the larvae 
develop in size. 

The larva is a small grub about one-tenth of an inch in length. It 
is footless and white, with the exception of the head, which is brownish. 

When the larva has attained its full growth it makes a slightly 
enlarged chamber, in which it pupates. Upon becoming an adult, 
the beetle makes its way out through small holes in the bark and 
escapes. It takes about a month for the insect to go through its va- 
.rious stages, so that during the summer there may b§ several broods. 
Many of the beetles, upon emerging, will turn and renew their attack 
upon the tree, thus increasing the damage that has already been done. 
In time, the tree becomes completely girdled by the numerous chan- 
nels, and dies. 

Strong and vigorous fruit-trees may resist for a time the attacks of 
the beetles through the exudation of the gum, which seems to be ob- 
noxious to both the beetles and the larvse. But if the attacks are con- 



THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 135 

tinned for a length of time, the tree may be so weakened that the flow 
of sap will not be strong enough to repel. In snch a case it is not 
long before the fate of the tree is sealed, unless vigorous and prompt 
measures are taken for its protection. 

To prevent loss from this insect, the tree should be kept in a healthy 
condition; the stronger the tree the better it can resist attack. Trees 
that are diseased, or are suffering from the attacks of scales or other 
insects, seem most subject to attack. 

It is a good practice to remove and destroy all dead wood in the 
orchard, as it furnishes excellent breeding-places for insects and is a 
source of danger to surrounding trees. 

Badly infested trees should be cut down and burned. In the early 
spring the trunks of trees liable to attack should be coated with an 
alkaline wash, consisting of soft soap reduced to the consistency of 
paint by adding washing-soda dissolved in water. Enough carbolic 
acid should be added to give a strong repellant odor to the mixture. 
Apply the wash with a stiflp brush. Several applications should be 
made during the spring and summer. 



THE FI^TJIsrE. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

It is scarcely to be expected that Kansas will ever grow prunes for 
commercial purposes ; but, as the average Kansan desires to know 
what is going on in the world and the why and the how of it, and as 
our people are much given to experimenting, no one can tell in ad- 
vance what wonderful results may come from horticultural experi- 
ments ; besides, our people eat prunes, and desire to know wherQ and 
how they grow, the methods of "manufacture," and how to choose 
the best. They are of the same nature as the plum, and we hope 
these few pages on the prune, immediately following the plum, will be 
appreciated. We hope they may enlighten some of our citizens, and 
make instructive and interesting reading for all. Secretary 



WHAT IS A PRUNE? 



Definition in the Standard Dictionary : The edible fruit of a 
sapindaceous tree ; a plum ; a dried plum used in cookery ; as French 
or Turkish prunes ; California prunes. The German prune is a large, 
dark purple plum, of oval shape, often one-sided ; much used for pre- 
serving, either dried or in syrup. 

Prune tree. — A tree of the genus Pruuus, which produces prunes. 

Definition in the Century Encyclopedic Dictionary: (1) A 
plum in recent usage, especially in the western United States; a 
plum suitable to be dried. (2) The dried fruit of one of several 
varieties of the common plum tree. The most highly reputed prunes 
are raised in the valley of the Loire, from the St. Julian and other 
varieties of plum, the very finest being known as French plums. 
There is a large and increased production of prunes in California, the 
variety of plum chiefly grown for that purpose being identical, or 
nearly so, with that employed in France, while the Myrobalan variety is 
the accepted grafting stock. Prunes are produaed also in Spain and 
Portugal. German prunes are largely produced, though of second 
quality. Bosnia and Servia export large quantities. Prunes are 
stewed as a sauce or otherwise prepared, and valued for their nutri- 
tious, demulcent and laxative properties. 

(136) 



THE PRUNE. 137 



NOTES ON PKUNES AND PRUNE RAISING. 

The prune was first planted or grafted in California in 1856, and it 
required about twenty years to get much of a foothold, it being 
about 1876 before the crop of cured fruit began to assume any size. 
Captain Bradley planted ten acres as a venture, and when it came in 
bearing realized $16,000 from it in four years. This set people wild, 
and California is to-day prepared to show a crop of from 100 to 125 
million pounds of cured fruit the first year when all conditions are 
favorable to a fair yield. We now see the time when orchards that 
do not produce well are taken out, but expect the planting to go on 
until some year Californians will have a crop of 200 million pounds 
to try their wits on to dispose of. 

MONEY IN PRUNES. 

A recent issue of the Colusa (Cal.) Sun says a Mr. P. V. Berkey 
shipped 560 sacks of cured French prunes, grown and cured on his 
ranch three miles above Colusa, on the east side. These prunes 
weighed when they reached the city 54,300 pounds. They were 
grown on 600 trees nine years old, making an average of 225 pounds 
of fresh fruit or 90 pounds of cured fruit to each tree. This, at the 
low estimate of four cents per pound, will return Mr. Berkey $2172, 
or $8.62 per tree. 

THE FRENCH PRUNE CROP. 

A correspondent of the California Fruit Grov:er, writing from 
Bordeaux, France, says : 

The annual blooming of prune trees here generally takes place during the first 
two weeks of the month of March, but this year, in consequence of low tempera- 
ture, the trees did not blossom until about April 10. This explains, despite the 
very high temperature which has prevailed for the last three mouths, the de- 
lay in the maturing of the fruit. Harvesting is being done under the most favor- 
able circumstances. The gathering of the fruit commenced in the first week of 
September and will not be terminated before the end of the month or the first 
week of October. 

The crop is said to be very abundant: pessimists figure it at from 700,000 to 
800,000 quintals (French quintal 110 pounds), and optimists figure it at from 
900,000 to 1,000,000 quintals. The fruit will be of average size only, from 60-65 to 
120-125 to the half kilo (a kilo is 2.20 pounds). It will be of excellent quality, 
sweet, of good skin, and of excellent conserve. We shall certainly find a little of 
40-i5 and 50-55 size fruit, but in so small a quantity that it will be impossible to 
quote them, as they will be sold at fancy prices. 

Taking it as accepted that the crop will be 800,000 quintals, you can estimate 
the output of different sizes as follows: 

60-65 fruits to the half kilo 75,000 French quintals. 

70-75 " " 200.000 " 

80-85 " " 300,000 " 

90-95 " " 100,000 " 

105-130-140 " " 125,000 " 



138 THE PRUNE. 

The quantity brought to the market up to this writing is calculated at about 
72,000 quintals of 80-85 to 130-140 fruit. This explains the high prices paid dur- 
ing the past week for a few baskets of 60-65, 70-75 fruit which have been offered 
for sale. The situation may continue up to the end of this month for two reasons : 
First, that the fruits 60-65s to 70-75s are, in the majority of cases, still on the 
trees; secondly, the farmers, seeing that prices which have actually been paid 
for some small lots have been very high, will keep the fruit back for some time. 
Still, it is my opinion that prices will not be well established before the quanti- 
ties brought to the markets correspond with the importance of the crop — that is 
to say, not before the end of this month. 

Following are the prices recently paid for prunes in bulk on the markets of the 
producing districts: Sizes 60-65 to the half kilo, 42 francs per 50 kilos; 60-75s, 
.32 francs: 80-85s, 21 francs; 90-95s, 16 francs; and 100-105s to the half kilo, 13 
francs per 50 kilos. 

In 1897 the crop was about 250,000 French quintals, and the quantity brought 
to market vip to September 15 of that year had reached 175,000 quintals. 

Note. — The four sizes, 70-75 to 100-105 bulk prunes, converted into American 
coin and weight, would be equal to S3. 59 per 100 pounds in Bordeaux. To this 
add freight, incidental expenses and duty of $2 per 100 pounds for cost laid down 
in New York city. 

PRUNES IN SERVIA. 

The cured-prune industry of Servia is an extremely important fea- 
ture of that country's exports. It is stated that the excellent and 
abundant prune crop of 1897 will add fifteen million francs, or close 
to three million dollars, to the total value of the exports from Servia. 
The high value placed upon the dried-prune exports for this year is 
not so much owing to the meager and indifferent crops of Bosnia, 
Slavonia, and Bohemia, as to an order issued by the minister of agri- 
culture as to the best method of gathering, drying and preparing the 
article for shipment. The instructions under this order have been 
enforced with great strictness, says the Fruit Grovaer. of London, 
and has led to a vast improvement in the quality of the exjDorted 
product. This excellent result from the supervision of his depart- 
ment has given the minister of agriculture an incentive to exercise 
more rigorous supervision over other articles exported from Servia 
which come under the control of the department. 

PRUNES AS FOOD. 

SjDeaking of what it terms "the plum famine" in England, the 
Fruit Grower, of London, says : "And the mere fact that the public 
will, on a pinch, pay from twenty-four to thirty-two shillings per 
bushel for plums proves that that fruit has become one of the most 
poi^ular food-products of the day. When we say food-products, we 
mean it. The fruit is rich in sugar, albumen, and blood-thinning 
juices, and, when dried and sold in the form of prunes, becomes the 
most perfect food-product known. Science has demonstrated the fact 
that people can live in good health solely upon prunes, and, as in this 



THE PRUNE. 139 

form they are rich in nutriment and strength-giving properties, sales 
and prices in the future will be forced up to a phenomenal degree." 

THEY TIRE OF TART PRUNES. 

We have often explained that, while people who have only been 
used to dried plums, very sour, at first prefer the tart i^runes of the 
Pacific coast, of which the California Fellenberg and the Italian from 
Oregon and Washington are types, to the sweet California prunes, 
this taste soon changes with use, and very soon the sweet prunes are 
much preferred for steady use. They make a richer and better food. 
The following from a St. Louis paper shows how the taste inclines in 
that section : 

Italian prunes are not so popular in this market as in some other sections of 
the country, their tart flavor not being appreciated as much as the sweeter taste 
of the Petite or French prune. The market on Oregon and Washington Italian 
prunes is about the same as on California French prunes, except the Italians are 
weak and lower all along the line, large sizes included. 

A NEW PRUNE, 

Even in Euroioe California French prunes are acknowledged to be 
the best produced, and are winning their way everywhere on their su- 
perior merits ; but California fruit-growers have made one serious mis- 
take in being the very last to acknowledge and take advantage of the 
new fruits originated in their very midst, and have learned to their sor- 
row, too late, that more enterprising Eastern growers had the market 
before them. The Sugar prune, of which a very small quantity of 
grafting wood will be offered to California growers this winter, ripens 
nearly a month before the common French prune, averages four times 
as large, shrinks less in drying, and contains more sugar than any 
other prune. In beauty of form, color, and excellence of flavor, it 
stands alone. The tree is a strong, shapely grower, and even more 
productive than the little French prune. Prominent fruit-growers 
who have seen the Sugar prune acknowledge that the French prune 
is a back number, and that the old and young prune, almond and the 
many unprofitable peach orchards must be grafted to the Sugar, the 
coming prune. 

PITTED PRUNES. 

A correspondent of the Calif (rrnia Fruit Groirer says: "Is there 
a growing demand for loitted. prunes of a strictly first-class quality? 
I know the Klondike trade consumed some, and wanted more, but the 
quality was probably very doubtful, if indeed they were "prunes" at 
all. Speaking from personal experience, it occurs to me very forcibly 
that the better class of trade in the United States would certainly 
strongly favor such an article, and in this connection — but please re- 
member I have no interest whatever in the trees — I would suggest 



140 THE PRUNE. 

that the Splendor prune, being a real freestone, and of very small 
seed, is exceptionally tatted for this purpose. It may be that the Im- 
l^erial or Clairac prunes, being so large that some trouble is had with 
the curing, may profitably be seeded for the finer trade. We need 
among our prune men a few of similar caliber to the Fresno raisin 
growers, both in the curing and marketing processes." 
Commenting on the above, the editor says: 

We do not know of a growing demand for pitted prunes, but know no reason 
why, under right conditions, such a demand cannot be created. The prune men 
of California have not begun to exhaust the possibilities of this really delicious 
fruit product. Witness what France has done and is doing with the prune. The 
Klondike demand for pitted prunes came not from a desire for a fancy article, as 
such, but because the conditions of freight transportation necessitated a reduc- 
tion of bulk and weight to the minimum, and because of this a pitted prune was 
wanted. We know no reason why a pitted prune should not be as desirable in 
household economy as a seeded raisin. 

RUBY AND BLACK PRUNES. 

Mr. A. W. Lane, in a paper before the farmers' institute at Han- 
ford, Cal., in speaking about the two methods of curing, says: "I 
placed upon one tray fifty pounds of prunes in a condition to make 
rubies, and on another the same amount of black. After curing, the 
rubies weighed nineteen and one-half pounds, and the blacks twenty- 
six and one-half pounds." The prunes to make rubies must be picked 
or shaken from the trees before they are perfectly ripe and sulphured 
to produce the ruby color. 

THE BURBANK PRUNE. 

There were recently brought to the Healdsburg (Cal.) Tribune 
office, by John McClish, samples of the new Burbank Sugar prune, 
dried and ready for market. The samples, which were fair specimens 
of the prune, would run about eighteen to the pound. This prune, 
says the paper just mentioned, has many advantages over the French 
variety. The grafts will bear in about half the time the French re- 
quires; it rij^ens from a month to six weeks earlier, dries quicker, and 
also contains more sugar than the French prune. Mr. McClish is 
greatly pleased with the new prune and will secure some 1300 or 1400 
buds for himself and other orchardists who are interested in it. In 
one instance where this prune and the French variety were grafted on 
the same stock, the latter bore a very few prunes, while the Burbank 
graft was loaded with fruit. 

In the event of phylloxera destroying the vineyards, Mr. McClish 
believes that this new prune can be most advantageously used on land 
now occupied by vines. Being very early in maturing, the fruit 
would reach marketable condition before the moisture in the soil had 
been drawn out by the hot days of late summer. Were the French 



THE PRUNE. 141 

prune planted on this soil the fruit resulting would likely be too small 
to pay for gathering. 

CARELESS METHODS OF CURING. 

The president of the Oregon state board of horticulture, Mr. H. B. 
Miller, makes the following public criticism of methods prevailing 
among some Oregon orchardists : 

The prune growers of Oregon often wonder why their French prunes do not 
command as good a price as the California product. An examination of the or- 
dinary methods of curing of the average Oregon prune grower explains much of 
the cause of this difference in value. 

I have just returned from a careful investigation of a number of prune driers, 
and found much carelessness and slovenliness. In the first place, they pick 
everything from the ground that they find there at the first picking. Some are 
half rotten, some half dried, some sunburnt, and almost all immature or de- 
fective. These are dried and go into the bins with the general crop. Then, again, 
a strong man goes over the orchard, shaking the trees as hard as he can, bring- 
ing off the prunes in every stage of ripeness, many of them altogether too green 
to make a good product. A dish of these prunes will have about as many differ- 
ent tastes or flavors as there are prunes, and none of them will be truly first 
class. 

Many of these driers are operated in the most careless manner, without ther- 
mometer to indicate the temperature, and, as a result, no two lots are cured 
equally; and so in the drying, as well as in the methods of gathering, many va- 
rieties of flavor are developed. After being cured they are often dumped into coal- 
oil cases, dirty packing boxes, and finally bring up in a dirty barn for storage. 
The dirt and filth about some of these driers is intensely disgusting.* 

Good fruit, clean and pleasant to the taste and uniform in flavor and quality, 
cannot be produced by such methods and will not command a good price in the 
market, and, until better, cleaner and more systematic work is done in the gath- 
ering, drying and packing of our prunes, we will be far behind the California 
price. 

In the first place, the sunburnt, immature and partiallydecayed fruit should 
not be dried. The trees should not be shaken, but the fruit should ripen on the 
tree and be allowed to drop, and in this way you will secure uniformity of ripe- 
ness. A careful uniformity of temperature for drying should be maintained and 
the fruit removed when it reaches a fixed standard. 

Prune buyers should examine the quality of fruit much more carefully than 
they do, and by variation in prices reward the careful and conscientious producer 
for his good work. So far the buyers have offered so much for dried prunes, re- 
gardless of their real qualities. Associations for elevating the standard of quality 
will do much good. I realize that many of the fruit-growers are doing good, con- 
scientious work, and are turning out a first-class product; but I have been sur- 
prised at the extent of careless methods in gathering, drying and caring for the 
prune, and I desire to urge upon all the utmost attention to every detail of pro- 
duction. 

*This grade sells in Kansas at six pounds for twenty-five cents. — Sec. 



142 THE PRUNE. 



VARIETIES OF PRUNES AND PROCESSES OF CURING. 

From Bulletin No. 45, Oregon Experiment Station. 

At present there are but three varieties of prunes largely grown in 
Oregon — the Italian, or Fellenberg; the Petite, or French or Robe 
de Sargent ; and the Silver, or Coe's Golden Drop. By far the major 
part of these are Italians, the Petites being second. Most of the other 
varieties grown now are sold, when cured, as one or another of these 
three varieties. All black prunes are sold as Italians, amber ones as 
Petites, and light-colored ones as Silver. 

Italian (Fellenberg, German, Swiss). — Medium size or large, 
roundish, but tapering at both ends; suture small but distinct; color 
dark purple with a hee^vy bluish bloom ; stalk one inch long ; cavity 
shallow ; flesh yellowish green, juicy, parting easily from the stone ; 
flavor sweetish, subacid, delicious. Tree hardy, vigorous, very produc- 
tive ; rather late. It is not known where the Italian prune originated, 
but it has been grown in Italy for a long time, where it finds great 
favor in the fresh state. The Italian is at present the leading prune 
in the Northwest, probably more than four-fifths of the trees in that 
section being of this variety. 

Petite ( Prune d'Agen, Prune d'Ente, Lot d'Ente, French, Robe 
de Sargent). — The fruit, as grown in Oregon, may be described as fol- 
lows : Medium size or small, oval or egg-shaped, not uniformly pyri- 
form ; suture small, distinct ; color violet-purple with bright-colored 
bloom; stem short, slender; cavity small and shallow ; flesh greenish 
yellow, sweet, full of sugar, rich and delicious, clinging slightly to the 
stone. Tree hardy, strong grower, very productive. This is the j)rune 
most widely grown in the great prune-growing countries, the favorite 
in the markets, and is mostly known as Prune d'Agen, excepting in 
the Northwest, where it is always called the Petite. 

Silver (Coe's Golden Drop). — Size large, oval or roundish; 
suture distinct, one side abnormally large oftentimes, necked ; color 
light yellow in the sun, dotted with small red spots ; stalk stout, 
nearly one inch long ; flesh yellow, juicy, firm, adhering slightly to a 
very pointed stone ; flavor rich, sugary, good quality ; tree a precari- 
ous grower, but very productive when all conditions are favorable ; 
season late. This variety originated with a Mr. Coe in England in 
the early part of this century, and received the name of Coe's Golden 
Drojo. A few years ago it was introduced in the Northwest as a new 
variety, the Silver, a supposed seedling. Much discussion was en- 
gendered because of the close resemblance to Coe's Golden Drop, and 
finally led to the appointment of a committee from the state horti- 



THE PRUNE. 143 

cultural society to investigate the matter. The investigating com- 
mittee reported that the seedling Silver prune tree was]a grafted Coe's 
Golden Drop i^lum. 

Heine Claude (Green Gage). — Fruit small and round; suture 
not well marked, but showing from stalk to apex ; color yellowish 
green, sometimes, or in the sun or at maturity, slightly marbled with 
red ; stalk short and slender, and inserted in a shallow cavity ; flesh 
yellowish green, free, juicy, melting; flavor delicious, mildly acid, 
sweetish, unsurpassed. Tree of low, slow-growing, spreading habit ; 
very productive. The nomenclature of this variety is somewhat 
mixed, from the fact that the trees come fairly true from seeds, and 
there have thus been propagated several varieties closely resembling 
the Heine Claude. There is much discussion as to whether our Heine 
Claude is the Green Gage plum of the East. The writer feels sure 
that those he has seen in Oregon are the same. For a prune in the 
fresh state we have no superior, in flavor, to the Reine Claude. 

Yellow Egg (White Egg, Magnum Bonum). — Large, oval, ta- 
pering at both ends ; suture very prominent ; stalk about an inch long 
and inserted in a very shallow cavity having a fluted border; flesh, 
when ripe, of deep golden color, dotted with white dots, and covered 
with a thin white bloom ; flesh yellow, clingstone, juicy, quality 
rather poor, subacid or sweetish, coarse grained. Tree fairly vigor- 
ous and fairly productive. Chiefly desirable on account of the 
splendid appearance of the fruit. 

German. — A name applied to several varieties of plums and prunes, 
the name representing a class rather than a variety, since the tree 
comes fairly true from seed. The German prune is a great favorite 
in central Europe, because of its being easy to propagate and grow. 
It is an abundant bearer, and of fair quality and easy to cure. Fruit 
medium size, long, oval, taijering at the ends, swollen on one side ; 
suture very distinct ; color dark purple, with a thick blue bloom ; 
stalk an inch long, slender, inserted in a shallow cavity ; flesh firm, 
and of a greenish color; freestone; flavor good, subacid, sweetish. 
Tree vigorous and productive. Two weeks earlier than the Italian. 

DoscH. — Hon. Henry E. Dosch, horticultural commissioner, writes 
as follows concerning the prune bearing his name, and which origi- 
nated with him : "Replying to your favor regarding the Dosch prune, 
I beg to say : When I bought my present place, there was an acre of 
Washington plums grafted on plum roots on the place. On one of 
these trees grew a sprout which started below the union. The former 
owner called my attention to it, and said that he judged from the dark 
foliage, large leaves and immense bud shoulders that it was a promis- 
ing seedling, and begged me to leave it. I did so, and was agreeably 



144 THE PRUNE. 

surprised at the beautiful large, dark purple prunes it yielded." Tree 
a vigorous, healthy grower ; leaves extra dark. Dark-purple fruit, cov- 
ered with a fine light blue blush, and hanging on the tree with great 
tenacity, shriveling before it will fall ofp. The prune keeps in good 
condition three weeks after being picked. When ripe, the flesh is a 
golden green and is very aromatic ; semi-freestone. It evaporates 45 
pounds of cured product to 100 pounds fresh fruit. In flavor it is 
sweeter than the Italian, but not so sweet as the French. It bears 
every year, and is about ten days earlier than the Italian. 

Hungarian ( Pond's Seedling, Gro.sse Prune d'Agen). — Fruit large, 
oval or ovate, tapering at the stem end, and oftentimes having a di- 
vided, elevated neck ; skin thick and rich in color, sprinkled with 
brown dots and covered with a thin white bloom ; stalk stout and of 
medium length, set in a mamelon neck; flesh yellow, coarse, juicy, 
quality rather poor, sweet, but not rich. Tree a strong grower and 
prolific bearer. Season two weeks earlier than Italian, or about the 
middle of September. 

Champion. — Large size, roundish, tapering somewhat at both ends; 
suture well marked ; color dark purple, with reddish bloom ; stalk of 
medium length, rather stout, and placed in cavity of medium depth; 
flesh firm, very juicy, parting from the stone easily ; flavor much like 
the Italian. Tree very vigorous, healthy, and strong grower. Fruit 
a month earlier than the Italian. Very productive. The Champion 
is one of the most promising of our new prunes for shipping in the 
fresh state. The vigor of the trees, their productiveness, the size, 
beauty, quality and earliness of the fruit all recommend it. 

technical terms and phrases. 

It takes an intelligent person some time to learn the meaning of 
the somewhat technical phrases commonly used in the prune indus- 
try. We therefore give the definition of those most current. Some 
of the words defined are colloquialisms, but most of them are common 
to the trade. 

Bleach hiff. — The process of chaDgicg the dark color of prunes to a lighter 
hue; generally accomplished by sulphuring. 

Blof(frrs. — Prunes which, in drying, swell up to an abnormal size. The swell- 
ing is supposed to be caused by fermentation, which produces a gas. Bloaters 
are generally produced from large, soft, overripe prunes. 

Dipping. — A process of cleansing and cutting the skin of fresh prunes pre- 
paratory to putting in the evaporator, in which the fruit is submerged in boil- 
ing lye made by using one can of concentrated lye to fifteen gallons of water. 
Cured prunes are also sometimes dipped in glycerine and water — one pound of 
glycerine to twenty gallons of water — which improves their appearance and adds 
to their weight and keeping qualities. 

Drip. — The syrup liquid which oozes from prunes in the process of curing; 



THE PRUNE, 145 

it generally characterizes a poor prune or a poor evaporator. As a verb, the fall- 
ing of the drip. 

Extras. — A superior quality of prunes; generally referring to size. 

Fi-o(fH. — Small, poorly developed prunes, having an abnormal shape — not a 
synonym of bloaters. Supposed to be caused by unripe fruit, poor soil, or any 
unhealthy conditions of the tree. 

Grading. — Separation of prunes, either before or after curing, into uniform 
sizes. 

Pricking. — The process of puncturing the cuticle of the fresh prune prepara- 
tory to putting it in the evaporator. Pricking is done by means of a machine, the 
essential part of which is a board covered vpith projecting needles over which the 
prunes must pass. A substitute for lye dipping. 

iSizcK. — The number of cured prunes it takes to make one pound. Those re- 
quiring from 40 to 50 prunes to weigh a pound are called dOs-SOs, those requiring 
50-60, 50s, 60s, etc. The four sizes are the 60s-70s, 70s-S0s, 80s-908, and 90s-100s. 
Commercially, it means equal quantities of these sizes. Sizes and grades are 
used as synonyms. 

Sugdring. — The fiormation of globules c*f sugar upon the cuticle of cured 
prunes, rendering them syrupy and sticky, and destroying the luster of the prune. 

Sa^iharhig. — A process cured prunes are put through to give them a lighter 
color. The prunes are put in a tight room, generally just as they are put on 
trays before being placed in the evaporator, and subjected to the fumes of burn- 
ing sulphur for a half-hour. Or they may be sulphured after being taken from 
the evaporator.. 

Sweating. — A process prunes are subjected to, immediately after being 
taken from the evaporator, in which they are put in piles or bins with the tem- 
perature at from seventy degrees or eighty degrees, turned several times, and al- 
lowed to sweat. 

Picking and Grading, — There are all sorts of prunes put upon the market. 
The differences are largely attributed to the care and attention given to the de- 
tails of curing. Simple as it may seem, the picking of the fruit is one of the most 
important matters in the process ©f curing prunes. Half the "bad luck" at- 
tending evaporation, in which frogs, bloaters, sugared fruit and drip are pro- 
duced, is caused by carelessness in picking. We put the greatest emphasis up©n 
this, as neglect in picking is one of the commonest faults in prune making, and 
its betterment must be recognized as a fundamental requisite of success. I have 
seen men knocking the fruit from the trees with clubs, handling it with shovels, 
and pouring it roughly from boxes into a wagon-bed. "There is nothing in 
prunes," was the cry when the product was put on the market. Shortly before 
the picking season begins the ground under the trees should be cleared of rub- 
bish and worthless fruit, and the soil mellowed with a steel rake. The Petite 
prune, and to a large extent the Italian and other varieties, when ripe enough to 
dry wi^l drop to the ground; at least, no further assistance is given it in falling 
than a gentle shake of the tree. If the fruit shrivels a little before dropping, all 
the better. The object in thus letting the fruit get thoroughly ripe is, that not 
until then is there a maximum amount of solids and saccharine matter so desir- 
able in a good cured prune, much drip is prevented, since there is less juice, 
and the essential rich flavor is not present until tke fruit is ripe. . . . 

DilJl^ing rx. Pricking. — Prunes are dipped in boiling lye or pricked by 

needles in a pricking machine, to check and make tender the tough skin, so that 

the moisture can escape easily and drying be thus facilitated. Incidentally the 

fruit is cleansed. Both processes are in vogue, and a discussion of their relative 

—10 



146 THE PRUNE. 

merits is in order. Lye dipping, as practiced in Oregon, is about as follows: 
One pound of concentrated lye is dissolved in from ten to fifty gallons of water, 
the proportion of lye and water differing greatly with the various prune growers. 
The primitive way is to keep the solution boiling in a large kettle, into which 
the prunes, placed in a wire basket or a much-perforated metal vessel, are im- 
mersed and there kept in motion, by twirling or swinging, for from thirty to sixty 
seconds, depending upon the condition of the fruit. A more modern way is to 
have the fruit run from the grader to a set of endless chains with carrying 
aprons, and by them carried through a pan containing the boiling lye solution, 
heated with submerged steam-pipes; from the lye the j)runes are carried on 
through fresh water, preferably running water, and then spread on trays. If 
the operation is well done the prunes on coming to the trays should have their 
skins bright and shining, and present, upon close examination, a finely checked 
condition. Over or under immersion causes the fruit to dry unevenly; when 
too much scalded the skin tears and becomes ragged, and the fruit becomes soft 
and mushy, making a sticky, nasty mess on the trays. Pricking machines me- 
chanically cut or perforate the skins of prunes. The fruit is fed over a shaking 
table that has needle points projecting above the surface, these cut and perfor- 
ate the skins of the prunes. The needle table can be regulated, so that by hav- 
ing different slants the skins may be cut more or less, as the condition of the 
fruit requires. The dirt and leaves are separated by a screen, and the fruit is 
washed, either by having it pass through hot or cold water or by having a stream 
of water play on the fruit as it comes on the |)ricking table. The pricking ma- 
chine may have grading and spreading attachments, so that the fruit from the 
time it is poured from boxes need not be handled until on the drying trays. 
Each of the two methods is championed by experienced and practical men, 
some of whom have tried both, and seemingly have obtained directly opposite 
results. We must, then, come to the conclusion that a choice between the two 
methods rests either upon prejudice or that there is a place for both, depending 
on the product desired or the fruit that is to be handled. 

Final Processes. — After dipping, or pricking, the prunes are ready for the 
evaporating chamber. It is impossible to give detailed directions for treat- 
meat in the evaporator, since the i)rocess must vary with the character of the 
evaporator. The time required for drying prunes differs with various varieties, 
and with each variety depends much upon the circulation of air, since circulation 
governs the degree of heat allowable. Lye-dipped Italian prunes require from 
twenty-four to thirty-six hours; Petites, twelve to twenty-four hours; Silvers, 
thirty-six to forty-eight hours. All three varieties are cured in less time, but 
seldom well cured. A common fault is to hasten the process too much. A prune 
is well cured when it feels soft, smooth, and spongy: the pit should be loose, but 
should not rattle; the fiesh should be yellow in color, elastic, and "meaty"; the 
skin should be bright and lively and free from drippings and exudations. An 
overcured prune is harsh and coarse, lind has a dried-up appearance. In prunes 
not cured enough there is risk of loss through molding or fermenting. The 
Petite prune, well cured, is of a clean, bright, amber color; the Italian, very dark 
red, approaching black in color. The Silver must have a beautiful golden hue. 

After the fruit is taken from the evaporator it is put in bins or piles to sweat. 
The sweating room is generally kept at a temperature of from seventy to eighty 
degrees. To facilitate the process, the fruit is occasionally turned with a scoop- 
shovel. The sweating is sometimes omitted, but at a risk, as fruit will often- 
times discolor and possibly ferment if not allowed to "go through the sweat." 

Preparatory to packing, the fruit is graded to sizes, the various grades indi- 



THE PRUNE. 147 

eating the number of prunes to the pound, as 30s to 40s, 40s to 50s, and so on to- 
110s to 120s. By some, the prunes are dipped in boiling water and glycerine, or 
other solutions, but such dipping is in disrepute, as indicating an undue amount, 
of avarice to secure weight. However, intelligently done, "glossing" or "finish- 
ing" prunes may be made a valuable process. 

In packing, many different methods are used. A producer will adopt which- 
ever one, for his particular reason, or his particular market or conditions, will 
give him best results. Only experience can teach this. Much fruit is packed in 
cotton sacks, many buyers preferring it so packed, as it gives a chance for re- 
packing. Producers with a good product like to establish a reputation for 
their brands, and so pack in boxes. There is a gain in weight by this method, 
as the fruit does not dry out so much as in the sacks. Packing fruit is an art,, 
and must be learned by observation. Lining with paper, filling, facing, etc., alls 
require a little education. If the boxes are to be faced, average specimens of 
fruit should be flattened and neatly laid in the box, which should be upside 
down. Fill the box, press, nail on the bottom, invert, and brand or put on the- 
label. 



THE COMPOSITION OF THE CURED PRUNE. 

Of all the methods for preserving fruit none is of so great impor-- 
tance to the American people as that of fruit evaporation. Of all 
fruits so preserved the prune certainly takes first rank. The reader 
must not confound the term evaporated fruit with that of dried fruit 
of years agone, for the newer process gives a cured product much 
superior to the sun- or oven-dried article, retaining, as it does, much 
of the original color and flavor, being soft, pliable, and palatable to 
eat out of hand. The process of evaporation has for its object prima- 
rily to drive off a sufficient amount of moisture to make the fruit keep, 
and to do this in such a manner as to leave the fruit in the condition 
above described, and leave the flesh of a transparent appearance — a 
clear yellow in the case of the French prune, and an amber in the 
case of the Italian. No prune which has not these characteristic& 
has been properly cured. It is not possible at this time to go into 
the technique of fruit curing, but rather to state the results of the 
analyses of samples of fruits cured by this method, as they are found 
on the market. The composition of the prune may be expressed as 
follows : 

(Water. rQno-a,. 

ri- J"i«^--- leftin 

^ . I (Soluble solids S^J^i,,ids. 

"^^"'1 (Cellulose. Ucids. 

1^2. Pulp \ Carbohydrates. 

( Pectose. 

During the process of ripening the first division is increased much 
at the expense of the second. 

"Pass the Prunes." 



GENERAL INDEX. 



PAGE 

Abundance, character of 23 

Americana freestone 19 

hardihood of 19 

American plums for America, Goff 18 

Bees for pollinating 53 

Blossoms : 

comparison of groups 37, 38 

in various locations 39 

infertile 34 

record of protected 39 

record of crosses 40 

sterile 47 

Botany of the plum, by Chas. E. Bessey 14 

Botanical relationships of cultivated sorts 41 

Bradsha w plum 36 

Brown rot 34 

Budding 117 

Chabot, something about 27 

Classification 6 

of sexual affinities, Heideman 94 

Conspectus of cultivated and native plums 41 

Cracked plums 128 

Crops under trees 57- 63 

Cross-fertilization 95 

Cross-pollination and f ruitfulness 34 

in plums 35 

Crown rot (Virginia experiment station) 128 

Curculio 3, 10, 11, 34, 54, 151 

and chickens 12 

to kill 12 

gathering the fruit and destroying 13 

machine for catching 12, 132 

one who fears not 56 

preventive 132 

remedy 131 

Commercial plum orchard 57 

Cultivation 6, 9 

Descriptive list 79- 85 

Diseases — other plum tree ( N. C.) 127 

Distance apart for planting 6, 56, 65, 69, 78, 121 

Dwarfing 9 

Elevation desirable 57 

Fertilizers 6, 10, 93 

Fertilizing barren trees 47 

Foreign species 41 

Four choice varieties 25 

Frost cracks, wrapping 121 

Fruit-tree bark-beetle, Kansas experiment station 134 

Graft in March 51 

Grafting 6, 9, 49, 115 

crown 6 

device 50 

new method 55 

side 50, 51, 118 

top 51 

waxed thread 50 

wax 51, 118 

(149) 



150 INDEX. 

Gouger 34 

Groups : 

bisexual 96 

dichogamous 95 

bete rosty led 96 

Gum, to prevent flow of 10 

Hail, effects of 63 

Hardy plums in New York 29 

Impotency 6 

Insects and diseases 10 

injurious to plum 129 

Introductory, by secretary 3 

Irrigation 120 

Japan plums, adaptation to localities 112 

best sorts 31 

blooming record 110 

botanical position 103 

characteristics 106 

Hale's 27 

hardiness compared with peaches 31 

in Colorado 27 

in Missouri 32 

in New Jersey 28 

in the South 31 

in North America — L. H. Bailey 101 

review Ill 

stand the cold 31 

varieties 140 

Kansas — plum growing in 60 

Knot — black 13, 14, 112 

remedies. New York experiment station 125 

Tennessee experiment station 123 

Leaf-rust or blight 128 

remedies 128 

Legitimate and illegitimate fertilization 98 

List of successful plums 29 

Low-headed trees 56 

Live stock among trees 63 

Mulching 56 

Native species — shrubs i'i 

trees 42 

. varieties arranged by Professor Bailey 114 

New one, by Mr. Burbank 26 

Nomenclature and classification 105 

October Purple, new 28 

Opportunity for wider planting, S. H. Linton 93 

Orchard, banner, Michigan 58 

another profitable 59 

plant a plum / 56 

Pistils — defective 36 

Plums, another man's idea 26 

growing in New York 57 

in general, Thomas 5 

in the West, Colorado 113 

native Sand, Kansas experiment station 20 

origin of , 

pockets, or bladders 127 

profitable 55 

propagation of 5, 9, 54, 55, 115, 116 

remedies 127 

that succeed 25 

what is it — definition 4 

standards 9 

tree fungus 129 



INDEX. 151 



Plum tree aphis, Utah joo 

remedy ' ^^., 

natural enemies j^o 

red-leaved, Rural New Yorker 22 

will they pay? Western Fruit Grower 23 

Pollination, by Geo. Cotte ^g 

notes on, T. W. Harrison ^^ 

and fertilization ' ' 07 

by Prof. F. A. Wauph "..y "./"......"/. 33 

Poultry and plums '|9q j,,q 



Powdery mildew 

127 



J''?^^^ 9. 119 

Kobbers or sprouts ,. 

Rot y.y/..... "........'..['.'.[['.. [['.".'.['.'. 112 

Satsuma plum. Rural New Yorker 23 

as stock -a 

e . 58 

f'"^°!' 6, 51, 118 

^^^f^'""^': 5. 54. 55. 115 

belf-stenhty ..^ .,,„ 

Shot-hole disease 121 

remedy ^.^.j 

f""': '''^'''''!"""'';;;!;;y6yio! 120 

bpecies, number of ..„ 

Spray formula j26 

ammoniacal copper carbonate 226 

Bordeaux mixture " ' lofi 

copper sulphate solution j2g 

hellebore ,.^„ 

kerosene emulsion "" .gg 

London purple " " jgg 

Paris green ..,„ 

^^""t^-: '''"^^'^"^'''^'".''"■"■■;'5r9!'5o; us 

Mananna j.g 

peach ^ 

Thinning', notes on 

Uncle Ben 

Varieties, comparison of 

that bloom but do not bear 

Wax coating 



9. 48. 49 

29 

29 

47 

117 

Wizard, horticultural, Burbank g. 



some of his wonders . 

Wounds — to cover 

Wrappii>g tree trunks. 



AUTHORITIES QUOTED IN THIS WORK. 

Adair, D. L., reference o„ 

American Agriculturist, quotation 57 

American Gardening, extract 28 

American Horticultural Manual, reference " ' ' ' 113 

American Pomological Society, extract |^^ 

Babcock, Col. E. F., reference 

Bailey, Prof. L. H., paper 

Bailey, Prof. L. H., quotation 27, 38, 42. 44. 45, 93^ 94 114 

Beach, Professor, reference gg ' ^g 

Beckley, J. C, paper ...^^ !...!.. 70 

Bentham and Hooker, reference jj3 

Berckmans, P. J., reference _ ' ^Qg' jqq 

Bessey, Ph. D., Chas. E., report ' 14 

Bolmer, Mr., reference q. 

Bridges, Mr., reference ^q- 

Buckeye Cookery, extract gg' ^7 ga go an 



22 
109 
101 



152 INDEX. 

Budd, Prof. J. L., extract 54, 105 

Bnrbank, Luther, his work 25, 27, 91, 92, 189, 110 

California Fruit Grower, extract 29 

Chabot, Mr., reference 110 

Colorado experiment station bulletin 113 

Cornell University, reference 28, 132 

Cotte, Geo., pollination 46 

Coulter, Professor, reference 45 

Country Gentleman, quotation 23, 24, 49 

Craip, Prof. John, reference 49 

Darwin, Professor, reference 98 

Dennis, Dr. A. B., reference 105, 107 

Denver Field and Farm, extract 56 

Downer, J. S., reference 85 

Downing, A. J., quotation 41 

Gale, Prof. E., reference 45 

Georgeson, Professor, reference 102, 103, 109 

Goff, E. S., paper 18, 36, 37, 38 

Gray, Asa, reference 44, 45, 46, 105 

Green's Fruit Grower, quotation 27, 29, 55, 58, 59 

Groot, S. C, reference 83 

Hale, Mr., reference 27, 48, 107 

Hale, Mrs., extract 86, 87, 88, 89 

Hammond, W. P. & Co., reference 101 

Hansen, Prof. N. E., report 49 

Harris, Mr., reference 84 

Harrison, Col. T. W., item on sloe 47 

Harvey, James, reference 85 

Hearth and Home, quotation 12 

Heideman, Professor, reference 35, 36, 84 

Heidman, C. W. H., paper 94 

Heikes, W. F., reference 81 

Hemsley, Professor, reference 102, 103 

Hosack, Doctor, reference 84 

Hough, Mr., reference 101 

Hull, Dr. E. S., quotation 12 

Index Kewensis, reference 113 

Indiana Farmer, quotation 130 

Iowa Agricultural College, reference 52 

Irwin, J. L., fertilizing barren trees 47 

Jewett, Mr., quotation 27 

Kansas experiment station bulletin 20, 134 

Kansas Farmer, quotation 131 

Kelsey, John, reference 101, 111 

Kerr, J. W., reference 48, 110 

Kizotamari, Professor, reference 102 

Lombard, Mr., reference 81 

Lonsdale, Edwin, reference 28 

Lord, Mr., reference 84 

Macomber, reference 34, 36, 38 

Mathews, B. A., reference 52 

Maximowicz, Professor, reference 102, 103 

McLaughlin, James, reference 82 

Miller, Chas. A., quotation 48 

Miner, Mr., reference 83 

Missouri experiment station, reference 32 

Missouri horticultural report 32, 55 

Montana Fruit Grower, plums that do not bear 47 

Mnnson, T. V., quotation 37, 109 

New York experiment station bulletin 125 

New York Tribune, reference 47 

North Carolina experiment station bulletin 127 

Ohio experiment station bulletin 29, 30 

Orange Judd Farmer, quotation 132 

Pammel, Professor, reference 129 



INDEX. 153 

Penning, Martin, reference 84 

Piatt, Judge, reference 82 

Popular Gardening, extract 56 

Poultry Messenger, quotation 129 

Practical Farmer, extract 29 

Quackenboss, Mr., reference 83 

Quebec Pomological Society, report 49 

Rorer, Mrs., extract 86, 87, 88, 89 

Roxburghs, Professor, reference 102, 104 

Rural New Yorker, extract 23, 24, 25, 29, 32, 91, 111 

Rural World, extract 132 

Sargent, Professor, reference 45, 102 

Sedgwick Nursery Company, reference 84 

Skilful Housewife, extract 86, 89 

Smyth, B. B., paper 52 

Southern Florist and Gardener, extract 25 

Tennessee experiment station bolletin 123 

Thomas Fruit Cnlturist, extract 5 

Utah experiment station bulletin 131 , 133 

Van Deman, Prof. H. E., on Burbank 25, 29, 91, 109 

Waite, Professor, quotation 31 

Watrous, Prof. C. L., reference 22 

Waugh, Professor, on Burbank , 26, 33, 121 

Wells, T. C, paper 76 

Western Fruit Grower, extract 23 

Whitten, Prof. J. C, quotation 32 

Willard, S. D., on good plums 26 



INDEX TO VARIETIES. 

Abundance 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 55, 57, 58, 59 

60, 61, 62, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 
76, 77, 78, 106, 107, 108, 1C9, 110, 111, 112, 131 

Aitkin 79 

Albert 22 

America 59, 67 

American Eagle 30, 62, 79 

Apple plum 59, 67, 79 

Archduke 25, 30 

Arctic 29 

Arkansas 16, 23 

Australian 4 

Babcock 108, 109 

Bailey 2, 27, 28, 31, 57, 71, 108, 109 

Bartlett 25, 67 

Bassett's American 16 

Bavay 18, 22, 73, 79 

Beach 4, 93, 114 

Beekman 74 

Berckmans 32, 106, 107, 108, 109, 112 

Berger 106, 107, 108, 109, 112 

Bingham 73, 79 

Blood 4 

Blue Gage 9, 70, 73 

Bluemont 77 

Bolmar 84 

Botan 65, 67, 72, 75, 77, 79, 105, 108, 109, 110 

Bradshaw 18, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 55, 56, 57, 64, 93, 116 

Brittlewood 22 

Brussels 9, 70 

Bullace 4 

Burbank 2, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 48, 55, 57 

58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 65, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 

75, 76, 77, 78, 84, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112 



154 INDEX. 

Bnrsota 22 

Caddo Chief 16, 22, 67, 79, 93 

Canada 5 

Chabot 2, 18, 27, 28, 30, 32, 48, 59, 61, 65, 67, 74, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112 

Chalco 25, 59, 67 

Chase 27, 28, 32 

Cheney 15, 79 

Cherry 5, 82 

Chickasaw 4, 61, 79 

Clayton 77 

Climax 26, 59, 67. 80 

Clyman 29 

Cocoa 4 

Coe's Golden Drop 18, 30, 57, 62, 67, 71, 103 

Copper 18 

Cumberland 22 

Damson 4, 9, 13, 22, 23, 29, 32, 48, 55, 60, 62, 64, 65 

66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 80, 93, 130 

Date 4 

Delaware 108. 110 

Deep Creek 15 

De Caradeuc 114 

DeSoto 15. 22, 23, 40, 49. 52. 61, 62, 68. 73. 77. 78. 80, 116 

Devil's Choice 63 

Douglas 28, 82 

Downing 22, 23, 63 

Draper 72 

Duane 57 

Earliest of All 62 

Early Scarlet 82 

Englebert '. 57 

Engre 110 

Fellenberg 18, 22, 67, 80 

ForestGarden 15, 22, 23, 29, 67, 73, 80 

Forest Rose 15, 30, 32, 60, 61, 71, 76 

Foster 73 

Franklin 84 

French Damson 18 

French Prune 18, 67 

Garnet 26 

Gaylord 22 

GeneralHand 57, 67, 80 

Georgeson 108 

German Prune 4, 18, 29, 30. 58. 57. 60, 67, 70, 73, 74. 75, 77 

Giant Purple 59 

ffiillett 83 

Gingerbread 4 

Godard 73 

Gold 31, 32, 60, 62, 67, 73 

Golden Beauty 15, 22, 23, 32, 64, 73. 74, 77, 81, 93 

Gonzales 67 

Gopher 4 

Grand Duke 25, 29, 62 

Gray 4 

Green Gage 4, 18, 24, 60, 70, 73, 81, 93, 116 

Gueii 18, 31, 59 

Guinea 4 

Hale 23, 27, 29, 31, 57, 59, 61. 81 

Hawkeye 22. 23, 29, 30. 67. 79 

Heikes 81. 108 

H inkley 8;^ 

Horse 9. 13 

Hudson River 22 

Huling's Superb 22 

Hungarian Prana 18 



INDEX. 155 

Hytan 82 

Imperial Gage .' 18, 22, 30, 73 

Indian 4 

Indiana Red 81 

Isabelle 83 

Italian Prune 22 

Itaslca 15 

Jaciison 84 

Jefferson 7, 18, 57, 73, 75 

Jennie Lucas 16 

Juicy 67 

Kayo 82 

Kelsey 18, 25, 60, 61, 65, 67, 69, 74, 81, 84, 101 

104, 106, 107, 108, 110, 112 

Kerr 81, 104, 108, 112 

Kickapoo 15 

Klondike 73, 81 

Lambert 61 

Late Blood 108 

Lawrence's Favorite 7, 31, 73 

Le Due 81 

Lincoln 31 

Lombard 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 32, 48, 49, 55, 56, 57, 59 

61, 66, 68, 69, 73, 74, 75, 77, 81, 116, 130" 

Lone Star 16, 82, 93 

Long Fruit 108, 110 

Louisa » 15 

Mankato 82 

Marianna 7, 22, 32, :J3, 37, 38, 58, 60, 61, 64, 66, 67, 69 

72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 82, 114, 116, 127, 130 

Marion 32 

Marau 18, 82, 110, 112 

McLaughlin 73, 82 

Milton 23, 29 

Miner 15, 22, 32, 52, 64, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 83, 93, 130 

Minnesota 34, 40 

Minnetonka 15 

Missouri Apricot plum 15 

Missouri Green Gage 30 

Mito 73, 74 

Monarch 29, 62 

Moore's Arctic 18, 31, 48, 56, 62, 63, 65, 67, 83 

Moreman 15, 82, 93 

Munson 71, 82, 112 

Muscle 9 

Myrobalan 5, 7, 82, 116 

Newman 16, 22, 32, 67, 71, 83, 93 

New Ulm 22 

Niagara 18, 26, 67, 83 

Normand 32, 67, 74, 77, 8:3, 106, 108, 112 

Ocheeda 22 

October Purple 28, 57 

Ogon 18, 22, 27, 32, 48, 58, 65, 73, 7t, 83, 104, 107, 108, 110, 112, 119 

Ohio Beauty 60 

Orient 62, 73 

Orleans 4 , 7,3 

Peach plum 65, 83 

Pear plum 9 

Perfection 108 

Peter's Yellow Gage 25 

Philippe 1 84 

Piper 22 

Pissard 22, 23 

Pond's Seedling SO, 60 

Poole 32, 62, 83 



156 INDEX. 

Pottawatomie 3, 16, 22, 23, 32, 40, 60, 61, 62, 63, 66 

67, 68, 71, 73, 74, 78, 83 

Prairie Flower 30 

Prune d' Agen 18 

Purple Egg . 22, 57, 73, 74 

Purple Gage 4 , 73 

Purple Yosemite 15 

Quackenboss 18, 57, 67, 73, 83 

Quaker 15, 22, 73. 83 

Reed 15, 30 

Red June 22, 23, 25, 27. 29, 31, 48, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 65, 67, 70, 73, 74, 78 

Red Negate 18, 22, 67, 83, 112 

Reine Claude Violette 4, 26, 30, 93 

Ricliland 30 

Richmond 73 

Robinson 3, 16, 32, 40, 68, 71, 73, 74, 77, 83, 130 

. Rockford 22, 29, 83 

Rollingstone 22, 40, 84 

Ross 73 

Roulette 15 

Royal 25 

Ruby 67 

Saratoga 25, 69 

Satsuma 18, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 31, 32, 55, 57, 58, ^, 60, 61, 65 

67, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 84, 106, 107, 110, 112 

Shippers' Favorite 60 

Shippers' Pride .^ 56, 60 

Shiro 67 

Shropshire Damson 18, 22, 32, 55, 60, 75 

Silver 22 

Sloe 4, 43, 45, 47 

Smith's Orleans 22 

Spaulding 25, 30, 56, 73, 77 

Stoddard 22, 23, 29, 66, 67, 84 

Strawberry 108 

Surprise 84 

Tatge 30 

Townsend 83 

Uchi Beni 108, 110 

Uncle Ben 29 

Vanity ''3, 74 

Washington 7, 18, 22, 64, 67, 70, 73, 74, 75, 84 

Wangenheim 22 

Wayland 15, 22, 77, 84, 93 

Weaver 15, 22, 30, 60, 64, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 116 

Whitaker 29, 66, 67, 84 

Wickson 23, 25, 26, 27, 29, M, 32, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 65, 67, 70, 74, 76, 84 

Wild 

Wild Goose 3, 15, 17, 22, 28, 24, 32, 52, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66 

67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 85, 93, 104 

107, 114, 121, 127, 130, 131 

Wild Goose Seedling 37, 64,' 84' 

Willard 22. 23, 27, 32, *8, 55, 57, 61, 73, 74, 76, 85. 107, 112 

Wolf 22, 23, 29, 30, 32, 49, 60, 61, 72, 73, 74, 78, 85, 116 

Wolf Seedling No. 6 40 

Wooton 29 

World Beater 32 

Wyandotte 64 

Wyant 22, 23, 32, 49, 52, 73, 77, 85 

Yellow Egg 85, 93 

Yellow Gage 67 

Yellow Japanese 26, 27, 28, 32, 55, 110 

Yellow Transparent 22 

Yosebe 107, 108. 110, 112 

Yosete 85 



INDEX. 157 

KANSAS CONTRIBUTORS. 

Atchison county H. M. Rice, Mnscotah 60 

W. H. Tucker, Effingham 60 

Barber county B. A. Blackmore, Sharon 60 

A. S. Huff, Enon 61 

E. T. Daniels, Kiowa 61 

J. R. Dunkin, Sharon 61 

Barton county C. L. Gunn, Heizer 61 

Geo. Ettridge, Roberts 61 

Brown county L. C. Clark, Hiawatha 61 

J. H. Moyer, Hiawatha 66 

Geo. A. Wise, Reserve 64 

Bourbon county J. B. Saxe, Fort Scott 64 

Butler county S. F. Garrison, El Dorado 64 

Chase county Dick May, Elk 64 

Chautauqua county Jere EUixson, Chautauqua 64 

Cloud county S. H. Domony, Aurora 65 

CofiFey county Mrs. E. O. Beavers, Ottumwa 65 

Cowley county J. H. Bilsing, Udall 65 

Decatur county J. H. Say les, N orcatur 6fe 

P. Wagner, Dresden 65 

Dickinson county James Dunlap, Detroit 65 

Douglas county A. H. Griesa, Lawrence 66 

Ellsworth county J. W. Somer, Wilson 67 

Geary county William Cutter, Junction City 67 

Gray county J. P. Emery, Cimarron 68 

Harper county D. D. White, Enon 68 

John Bailey, Harper 68 

Jackson county F. W. Dixon, Helton 68 

F- L. Osborne, Soldier 69 

J. W. Williams, Holton 69 

H. S. Cutter, South Cedar 69 

Jeif erson county E. M. Gray, Perry 70 

Johnson county E. P. Diehl, Olathe 70 

J. C. Bockley, Spring Hill 70 

Kearny county C. H. Longstreth, Lakin 71 

Labette county R. De Garmo. Oswego 71 

Geo. Hildreth, Altamont 72 

N. Sanford, Oswego 72 

Lane county D. E. Bradstreet, Dighton 72 

Leavenworth county Dr. J. Staymau, Leavenworth 72 

Linn county W. M. Fleharty, La Cygne 73 

Lyon county D. C. Overly, Hartford 73 

Marion county James McNicol, Lost Springs 73 

Mitchell county W. G. Stockard, Beloit 73 

J. T. Barnes, Beloit 73 

Montgomery county P. C. Bowen, Cherry vale 74 

J. C. Ross, Havana 74 

Morris county John E. Sample, Beman 74 

.James Sharp, Parkervillo 74 

V. E. Hathaway, Council Grove 75 

F. B. Harris, White City 75 

Osage county CD. Martindale, Scranton 75 

Ottawa county Howard Morton, Tescott 75 

Phillips county F. T. M. Dutcher, Phillipsburg 75 

Reno county John Hinds, Olcott 76 

Republic county F. A. Smith, Belleville 76 

Rice county H. C. Hodgson, Little River 76 

Riley county T. C. Wells, Manhattan 76 

Smith county M. E. Wells, Smith Center 77 

Sumner county D. M. Adams, Rome 77 

Washington county A. M. Dull, Washington 7S 

Wyandotte county W. D. Cellar, Edwardsville 78 

F. Holsinger, Rosedale 78 



168 INDEX. 



PLUM RECIPES. 

Butter — Mrs. Rorer 86 

Canned — Mrs. Rorer 86 

' ' Buckeye Cookery 86 

Charlotte — Skilful Housewife 86 

Cheese — Mrs. Hale 86 

Cobbler— Buckeye Cookery 86 

Compote — Mrs. Hale 86, 87 

Dried — Mrs. Rorer 87 

Euchered — Buckeye Cookery 87 

Fruit to prepare for children — Mrs. Hale 86 

Jam 87 

Jelly 87 

' ' — Buckeye Cookery 87 

Marmalade — Mrs. Hale 88 

" Mrs. Rorer 88 

Plum-and-apple jelly — Buckeye Cookery 88 

Preserves — Skilful Housewife 88 

' ' Mrs. Rorer 89 

Mrs. Hale 89 

Pudding — Buckeye Cookery 89 

Spiced — Mrs. Rorer 89 

Sweetmeats — Buckeye Cookery 89 

Spiced plums 90 

To remove fruit stains 90 



23, 40, 41, 43, 44, 55, 93, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 114, 116 

Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. (Myrobalan or Cherry plum) 5, 17, 22 

42, 44, 114 

Prunus triflora Roxb. (Japanese plum) 5, 7, 18, 19, 20, 22, 33, 37, 38 

44, 53, 93, 101, 102, 103, 104, 108 

Prunus americana Marsh, (common wild plum) 4, 5, 6, 15, 19 

33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 44 
52, 55, 94, 95, 97, 98, 100, 101, 113 

Var. nigra (Canada plum ; Red plum) 15, 37, 40, 42 

Prunus hortulana Bailey (Wild Goose plum) 6, 15, 22, 33, 37, 38, 42 

93, 100, 113 

Var. mineri Bailey 42 

Hybrid Marianna 37, 38, 42, 45, 49 

Prunus chicasa Michs. (properly Prunus angustifolia Marsh.) 4, 5, 6 

16, 22, 33, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 45, 52, 93, 100 

Prunus alleghaniensis Porter (sloe) 43 

Prunus subcordata Benth 5, 43, 45, 93 

Prunus umbellata Ell. ( Black sloe ; Hog plutn) 43 

Prunus watsoni Sargent (Sand plum) 16, 20, 21, 43, 45, 53 

Prunus gracilia Engelm. & Gray 43 

Prunus maritima Wang. (Beach plum) 7, 16, 43, 45, 93 



INDEX. 159 



THE PRUNE. 

Composition of cured prunes 147 

French Prune 8, 9 

crop 137 

quality of 137 

Introductory, secretary 136 

Money in prunes 137 

Notes on growing 137 

Prunes in Servia 138 

as food 138 

tart vs. sweet 139 

a new one 139 

pitted 139 

Ruby and blaclf 140 

Burbank 140 

d' Agen 8 

d' Ast 8 

Provence 8 

the best 8 

St. Catherine 8 

careless curing 142 

filthy curing 142 

Technical terms 144 

bleaching 144 

bloaters 144 

curing 8 

dipping 14)4 

drip 144 

• extras 145 

frogs 145 

dipping vs. pricking 145 

final processes 146 

grading 145 

pricking ,. 145 

sizes 138, 145 

sugaring 145 

picking and grading 145 

sulphuring 145 

sweating -. 145 

Varieties 143 

Champion '. 144 

Dosch 143 

German 143 

Hungarian 144 

Italian 142 

Petite 142 

Heine Claude 143 

Silver 142 

Yellow Egg 143 




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